An Hour Too Late
by RoniAllan
Summary: In this story I try to imagine what might have happened if Darcy had arrived at Pemberley just an hour too late to meet Elizabeth Bennet there while she was on her northern tour with the Gardiners. I had to make Georgiana less shy than canon so she can try to get them together again. HEA
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_This is the fourth story I have posted on this site. As with the other three, I begin by wondering what might have happened if something just a bit different had occurred from what the immortal Jane had written. Again, I try to keep the characters basically the same as her conceptions. In this story, however, I admit that Georgiana had to be less shy to fit in with what I imagined would happen. As these are my very first attempts at writing fiction, I welcome all comments so I can try to improve over my overly academic style. Enjoy! Roni_

What a difference a day makes; sometimes even just one little hour.

It was a glorious August day when Fitzwilliam Darcy arrived at his Pemberley estate a day ahead of his sister and guests, the Bingleys and Hursts, to see a strange carriage just leaving by the road to Lambton. He had left his guests early that morning to ride ahead so he could talk to his steward, Milne, about several important estate matters before his guests arrived. When he entered the house, he asked his housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds who was in the carriage that he had seen leaving. She said, "We had visitors who said they were touring the north country and asked if they could tour the house and grounds. As they looked very respectable, a couple and a young lady, I showed them around the public rooms, and then they toured the gardens. The lady of the couple said she had grown up in Lambton and knew how grand Pemberley is. The young lady spent a long time in front of your portrait and said she knew you, 'slightly.' I believe that she knew you better than just slightly as she had a wistful expression on her face when she stared at your picture. I hope what I did was acceptable, Mr. Darcy?"

"Yes, certainly, but I came a day early so I could meet with Mr. Milne to clear up several pressing issues before my guests arrive. Please have him see me in an hour so I can clean up first. Miss Darcy, the Hursts, and Bingleys will be here tomorrow. Have someone bring up bath water for me. John is coming in the carriage, so I will need someone to act as my valet until he comes.

As he became busy with his steward and dealt with other important correspondence, he did not think any further about the people who had been touring Pemberley just before he arrived. When the carriages arrived the next day, he became busy entertaining his guests. In addition to his young sister Georgiana, the guests were his good friend Charles Bingley, his sister Caroline Bingley, and Bingley's married sister Louisa Hurst and her husband. He had not really wanted to invite Bingley's sisters, but the four of them lived together and were always together. Neither he nor Georgiana cared to be around Miss Bingley as they both knew how desperately she wanted to become Mistress of Pemberley. She was nauseatingly cloying with Georgiana and acted as if they were already sisters. She also treated the Pemberley staff as if she was already their mistress and ordered them around; demanding whatever she wanted with no consideration of what might be possible for them to do. The staff was unanimous in their hopes that Mr. Darcy would not succumb to her wiles and make her Mrs. Darcy. They did not trust Miss Bingley and believed she would not hesitate to compromise their master to force him to marry her, so they took extra precautions to ensure that at least one of them was always with him so she would never find him alone and in danger of her schemes. Footmen took turns guarding his bedroom door every night in case she walked in her sleep. They certainly did not look forward to having her as a guest and had received word from their counterparts in Darcy House in London that she was coming and how she had not given up on her nefarious plans. The staff did not worry so much about the Hursts; but, knowing Mr. Hurst's penchant to drink everything in sight, they carefully substituted the best wines, port, and brandy for cheaper varieties for him. As he did not seem to notice the difference, they secretly chuckled at their game. The footmen became very adept at remembering which bottles and decanters were meant for Hurst, and which were for everyone else.

Georgiana was happy to be back at Pemberley as she considered this to be her real home. Just after she arrived, Darcy led her to the music room where she found that he had purchased a beautiful new piano for her. She squealed her delight with this fine instrument and threw her arms around him to thank him. "Georgie, you are becoming such an excellent musician that I wanted you to have a piano that complements your abilities."

Georgie was very pleased with this gift, and was even more pleased to see that Darcy was in a slightly better mood than he had been since he had returned to London in April from visiting their aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Kent. Since his visit there, he had not been himself. He had seemed so upset, so unhappy, so moody, that it had not been pleasant to be in his company. Whenever she had asked him what was bothering him, he consistently denied being any different from what he had always been and that 'nothing was bothering him.' She knew he was drinking much more than he ever had before and she had used several occasions when he was in his cups to talk to him. She was so desperate to know what was wrong that she even began to sit on his lap and put her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. When she was younger, she used to sit in his lap so he could comfort her, now she did it to comfort him. As she had found that asking direct questions had not yielded any responses, she slyly talked to him about women he had met and if he had liked them. He once let slip when she asked about a certain woman who seemed to have caught his fancy that "She was nothing compared to Elizabeth."

Georgie remembered that he had mentioned a Miss Elizabeth Bennet several times in his letters from Hertfordshire and wondered if this was the same Elizabeth who had been causing him to be so upset since his return from Kent. She reread all the letters she had received from him when he was in Hertfordshire and Kent to determine just what he had said about this Miss Bennet. While he had not said anything to show that he had admired her, she noticed that he had not even once mentioned any other woman, just her. However, his inadvertent utterance made it obvious to her that, in fact, it was a woman who had upset him and that this woman was most likely Miss Elizabeth Bennet. From his depressed state, it was obvious that their relationship must not have gone well. Rather than pestering him with further questions, she wrote to their cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, as he had gone to Kent with Darcy. In her letter, she casually asked Richard about their visit and who they had met there.

Their cousin was not fooled by her casual question and realized that Darcy must have said something to Georgiana that made her suspect that something had happened there. Richard said that their visit was much more interesting than usual as their aunt's parson had had visitors from Hertfordshire and that one of them, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, the parson's cousin, was a most impressive woman, very intelligent, attractive, and personable. Richard admitted to Georgie that, if he had been in a better financial situation, he would have pursued Miss Bennet with no hesitation as she was the daughter of a landed gentleman and so suitable for him to consider as a possible spouse. He did not mention anything about Darcy's interactions with her as he was confused how, or if, Darcy admired her; usually, he had seemed completely distant with her, but he continually had his eyes on her whenever they were together. He doubted that there had been any special regard between them, especially on her side.

Georgie was now quite sure that it was Miss Elizabeth Bennet from Hertfordshire who was causing her brother's problems, but she did not know what to do with this information. She had no idea what might have occurred between Miss Bennet and her brother and she did not know what she could do to help them overcome whatever came between them. She was sure that something had happened to cause his obvious distress, but, without any further information, she did not know what to do. She wondered if Mr. Bingley might be able to help her as her brother had spent two months last fall with him at his newly-rented estate of Netherfield in Hertfordshire. Even after she had reread the letters that Darcy had written from there, she found no hint that anything special had occurred that might account for his present dismal mood. He did say that he was not sure if Bingley would return to Netherfield, but he did not give a reason for this.

As much as Georgie hated to speak to Caroline, she wondered if she might be able to add anything to her quest for more information. She knew that Mr. Bingley's sisters had both been at Netherfield, and she thought that it might be possible that they had encountered Miss Bennet there, so that first evening at Pemberley when they left the gentlemen at table, the ladies went to the music room where Bingley's sisters admired Georgie's new piano. Georgie sat at the piano and began to play an easy piece that she knew quite well. While playing, she asked, "Miss Bingley, I understand you were all at the estate that your brother had leased in Hertfordshire. My brother has not said much about his visit there, so I am curious what the society was like there. Did you enjoy yourselves there?"

"Definitely not! The people are so rustic they are practically savages. No sense of style; no manners; no intelligent conversation to be had at all. We could not wait to return to town and convince Charles to give up the lease. We spent two long months there."

"Did you meet anyone at all who was interesting, or were they all simple rustics?"

"I must admit that Miss Jane Bennet was the best of all of them, but that is not saying much. She kept us from complete boredom there, but she was not someone we would want to acknowledge in town. Charles admired her for a while as she was the most attractive woman there, but he soon forgot her when we went back to town. You should have seen her family! The most embarrassing people you could ever imagine. Once her sister Elizabeth walked from their estate to Netherfield and her hems and petticoats were a full six inches in mud, just because we allowed Jane to stay with us as she caught a cold when she was visiting us. I know that poor Mr. Darcy was scandalized when she arrived looking like that. He could not stop staring at her."

Rather than horrifying Miss Darcy, she was more and more intrigued with this description of Miss Elizabeth Bennet. From the images provided by her cousin and Miss Bingley, Georgie was beginning to believe that this lady might suit her brother quite well. She realized that this was the only woman Darcy had ever mentioned in any letter that he had ever written to her, so she must have impressed him more than any other woman ever had before. This, plus his very cryptic statement when he was in his cups that she was the standard that he used to compare other women, made Georgie believe that Miss Elizabeth Bennet was the cause of her brother's unhappiness. She knew that she had to do something for him and that she had to find out just what had happened between them in Kent. She knew that her brother would not open up to her, so somehow she had to meet this lady herself to find out what happened.

Georgie recognized that Mr. Bingley would be critical to any scheme to get her brother back in Miss Elizabeth's company as she most likely would be back at her home in Hertfordshire and that her father's estate was within walking distance to Netherfield. From Miss Bingley's words, Mr. Bingley had been attracted to Miss Elizabeth's sister Jane, but his attraction had lessened when they went back to London. She smiled when she thought of these two Bennet sisters and how they had made such an important impression on two very eligible gentlemen. She decided that she definitely had to meet both Bennet sisters. She knew she had to find an opportunity to talk to Mr. Bingley privately to gather more information.


	2. Chapter 2

The carriage that Darcy had seen leaving Pemberley when he first arrived there carried three people: Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her Uncle and Aunt Gardiner who lived in London. They had been touring the northern parts of England when they visited Pemberley. They had originally planned to tour the lake country, but exigencies of Gardiner's business necessitated that a shorter tour was all they could manage. They had seen several counties, a number of great houses, and many natural wonders.

As Mrs. Gardiner had grown up in Derbyshire, she hoped to spend a number of days in locations that she remembered so well. She was from the village of Lambton, which was just five miles from Pemberley, so they stayed at an inn there. She reconnected with several people that she knew from years ago and had greatly enjoyed renewing these former acquaintances. As she had previously explored the Pemberley woods as a child, she had wanted to go there to see where she had spent many happy hours in her youth. She had never been to the Pemberley great house as the Darcys were far above her station, but she had seen and admired it from afar.

Mrs. Gardiner enquired at the inn if the Darcys were in residence and heard that they were away. She decided she could not let this opportunity pass her by, so she asked her husband and niece if they would like to visit the estate. As Mr. Gardiner was keen to ensure that his wife really enjoyed their tour, he readily agreed. However, their niece was strangely reluctant. She had not told them that she had met its master, Fitzwilliam Darcy, while she was in Kent visiting her friend, the former Charlotte Lucas, who had married Elizabeth's cousin, William Collins, the parson at Hunsford. It happened that the parson's esteemed patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, was Darcy's aunt, and that he had been paying his annual visit to his aunt with his cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

Elizabeth had first met Darcy in Meryton, the village near her father's estate, while he was helping his friend, Charles Bingley, settle into the estate of Netherfield that he had leased for a year. Elizabeth had been disgusted with Darcy's manners which had appeared to be cold and haughty, exhibiting a great disdain for everyone in Meryton. Even before they had been introduced, he had insulted her appearance, calling her "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me," and he had refused to dance with her at the first public assembly he had attended in Meryton. He had even refused to be introduced to her when his friend Bingley had insisted. In contrast, his friend Charles Bingley had a great time at that assembly, dancing with a number of women, including her older sister Jane. Jane Bennet was reputed to be the most attractive woman in all of Hertfordshire, and Bingley was notorious for being attracted to handsome women, losing his heart to these 'angels' time and time again, much to Darcy's disgust.

However, as the Meryton society was quite limited, Darcy had encountered Miss Elizabeth a number of times after that first Assembly and soon learned just how intelligent, educated, and witty she really was. For some reason, her appearance also grew on him, especially her "fine eyes." As Darcy was one of England's most eligible bachelors because of his fine estate, his generous income, his tall frame, and his handsome face, he was used to fending off desperate young ladies and their even more rapacious mothers. He had found that if he paid the slightest attention to any woman, too much would be read into his notice, so he constantly adopted the appearance of being stern and aloof when in company that he was not familiar with. In fact, he had lost the ability to make polite conversation with any but his closest friends and family.

Elizabeth's defensive response to his apparent aloofness was to make fun of him and to joke about him with her acquaintances. He was aware of her making sport of him, but he had no idea how to react to her teasing manner. He was used to having women fawn all over him, rather than tease him. Her unique attitude towards him and her many attractive qualities made him strangely attracted to her. He soon saw that she just might be the type of woman who would make the perfect wife for him. However, as he had never before had to take the initiative with any woman, he was tongue-tied around her and she had no idea that he was actually attracted to her. All the while, she thought that he felt nothing but disdain for her because of this attitude that appeared to be so aloof from her.

Imagine her surprise when he suddenly proposed marriage to her in Hunsford! While she felt nothing but disgust for him, his proposal was prefaced by his telling her why an attachment to her went completely against everything he stood for. He even insulted her family's behaviour, lack of connections, and low status. These insults, piled on top of information she had heard from Lieutenant George Wickham about Darcy's poor treatment of him by denying him a living he had been promised near Pemberley, made her furious. In addition, she was sure that Darcy had been instrumental in separating her sister Jane from Bingley even while this couple was developing very strong feelings for each other.

Elizabeth's rejection of Darcy's proposal was very blunt, even rude, and included the statements that he could not have made his proposal in a more ungentlemanlike manner and that she had long known that he was the last man in the world she would ever consider marrying. These sentiments shocked Darcy to his core. He had always considered himself to be the consummate gentleman and a good person, so to be accused of being the opposite actually traumatized him as he had never been before. It took him a good while to begin to appreciate that her bitter accusations just might have some merit. He just could not believe how he had misunderstood his relations with her and how she could have misunderstood his attraction to her. He had always believed that no woman would ever reject him, especially one whom he had come to love. He actually believed that she would have understood that the very formal, but distant, attentions he had been paying to her were actually his form of courtship. He certainly believed that she was expecting his offer of marriage and so was even more stunned at her refusal.

In his desperation, he wrote a letter to her correcting the false information she had received from Wickham, describing just how much of a villain this person was. He also tried to justify his actions regarding Jane and Bingley by saying that he could not detect any indication of regard from her to his friend. He managed to put his letter in her hands the morning after his misguided proposal, and then he immediately left Kent with his cousin. With no further interactions with her, he had no idea how she reacted to his letter, or if she had even read it. After her bitter rejection of his proposal, he fell into a deep depression that had struck his sister so forcefully.

In fact, Elizabeth did read his letter, many times. It took her a number of readings before she began to realize that she had completely misunderstood Darcy's character and behaviour. While she had believed him to be so haughty, she now realized this was just his way of defending himself from the unwanted approaches from predatory females. Her ultimate feeling was one of deep embarrassment that she had treated a good man so badly. While she was still not sure if she would have accepted his proposal if she had known the information contained in his letter, she did know that she would have treated him much more gently in her refusal. In some recess of her mind, she thought that, if he had simply told her how much he loved her, her response might have been quite different. To be loved by such an important and imposing gentleman would be very flattering to any woman, especially one of her social class that was so decidedly below his.

Thus, when her aunt suggested that they visit Pemberley, the estate where she could have been mistress by now, she was horrified. What if she came face-to-face with its master? What would he have thought? What would he think of her? Would he believe that she was just another predatory female after him only for his estate? Even when the staff at the inn said that no one was at home there at the moment, she hesitated. Eventually she realized that she owed her aunt so much that she just could not deny this one pleasure she wanted so badly, so she expressed her willingness to go there with them.

After touring the house and grounds, which impressed her, very much so, when they were finally leaving Pemberley, she gave a huge sigh of relief that her worst fears did not come to pass and she had not met the Master of Pemberley. She admitted that to be mistress of Pemberley would be something, indeed. The effusive compliments that the housekeeper had spoken about Mr. Darcy made her realize that she had completely misunderstood his character. She realized what a huge mistake she had made and she knew that it was highly unlikely that she would ever have a chance to apologize to Darcy for her very rude rejection of his proposal. Her embarrassment now centered on just how unladylike her refusal had been. She knew that she would rue her words to her dying day.

The next several days were spent touring the area around Lambton and meeting her aunt's friends there. Their departure from Derbyshire was sudden, as she received two letters from her sister Jane informing them of her youngest sister Lydia's elopement with the same Mr. Wickham who had falsely accused Darcy of such shocking behaviour. Elizabeth knew in her heart that this elopement would affect her whole family as she knew enough about Wickham to realize he would never marry a penniless lady like her sister. She expected he had only taken her for his own amusement, and perhaps the small sum she might have left over from her pin money that she had taken to Brighton.

They rushed back to London to join her father in his hunt for Lydia, but she knew their chances of finding them were very slim; London was just too large to expect any chance of finding one obscure couple. Even though their search was augmented by Wickham's regimental colonel, they did not find them. Imagine their surprise when, late one afternoon, Lydia turned up at her uncle's house in Cheapside, on foot, alone, unwashed, and very hungry.

The tale she told was as bad as Elizabeth had feared. Wickham had promised to take her to Gretna Green to marry, but only after they made a stop in London where he said he had important business that he had to conclude. He used the small sum in her possession to get them to London, where he looked up an acquaintance, a Mrs. Younge, who gave them a squalid single room to stay in. This room was filthy and its main piece of furniture was a bed, but Wickham promised that it was only until he finished his business there. After just a few days, Lydia realized that the situation they were in was not likely to improve, nor was it likely they would make it to Scotland to marry. She stayed with him as she had no other option, but she finally knew all his promises were just that, promises, and empty at that. He went out every day on some business or other, and the day finally came where he did not come back at all. She waited for him for two days until finally Mrs. Younge came to tell her that Wickham had absconded without paying the rent they had agreed on and that Lydia had to get out. She kept all of Lydia's clothes in lieu of rent and just forced her out into the street.

Lydia was desperate, but finally remembered that her uncle Gardiner lived on Gracechurch Street, which was somewhere in Cheapside. Mrs. Younge pointed her in the right direction and told her to go, just go and never come back. She walked what seemed to be many miles and finally found the right house after asking many people for directions. By this time, Elizabeth and the Gardiners had returned and they welcomed her as warmly as they could, gave her a bath, found clean clothes for her, and fed her. Needless to say, they were all horrified at her tale of woe. They just did not know what to do with her, but, as the Gardiners flatly refused to let her stay with them, her father decided he had to take her home. They knew that her being at Longbourn would cause a huge scandal and would completely ruin the reputation of the whole family. They suspected, quite rightly, that Mrs. Bennet's loose tongue would have made their plight known in Meryton where the gossips liked nothing better than a scandal, especially among those from the landed classes.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though Georgiana had decided that she needed to talk to Mr. Bingley alone, this was difficult to accomplish as Miss Bingley attached herself to Georgie whenever possible and Bingley was usually with her brother. As August was proving to be sunny and warm, the first harvests were just beginning. Darcy and Bingley spent many hours on horseback riding among the different tenant and home farms to ensure that no serious problems were being encountered with the harvests. Bingley accompanied Darcy on his visits as he still wanted to learn as much as he could about managing an estate. Although Georgie normally did not ride with them when they toured the estate, she decided this might be her only opportunity to talk to Mr. Bingley privately.

One morning, Georgiana came down to breakfast earlier than normal. She found that Darcy and Mr. Bingley were already there. She said, "Fitzwilliam, it is a beautiful morning; perfect for a ride. Will you be riding the estate this morning?"

"Yes, Bingley and I will be going out as soon as we have eaten."

"Do you mind if I ride along with you? I have not been out to see our tenants for some time and this might be a good way to do it. I will stay out of your way and will go wherever you need to go."

"I do not mind. Bingley, is that all right with you?" Bingley nodded his head in agreement. "Will you be ready to leave as soon as you have finished eating? I will have your horse saddled along with ours."

They soon went out and began riding to the fields. As soon as Darcy left them to talk to some farmers, Bingley and Georgiana dismounted to let their horses graze while they waited. Georgiana spoke to Bingley, "Mr. Bingley, you have never told me how your visit to Hertfordshire was. Did you like the estate you leased?"

"I liked it very well. The house was quite comfortable and the location was great, just a few hours from London. We met some interesting people there and had some good shooting. Darcy thought it should be a decent investment with some care and a few improvements. But now I am not sure if I will renew the lease."

"Why not, if you liked it? It is not far from London, so that makes it quite convenient. How was the society there? What was the nearest town called?"

"Meryton. The society was quite limited, but I had some good times there, beginning with the local assemblies as there were some uncommonly pretty girls to dance with. We were invited to a number of dinners, teas, and card parties. Netherfield is the most important estate there; the next largest was Longbourn, and the two estates share a common border. A strange family at Longbourn; Mr. Bennet does not go out much, but his wife and five daughters are invited to every gathering. The oldest daughter, Miss Jane, is the prettiest girl in all of Hertfordshire. She is also the sweetest woman I have ever met. I liked her very well. The second oldest, Miss Elizabeth, was the most intelligent woman I have ever met. She sure kept Darcy on his toes. The Bennets have a serious problem in that their Longbourn estate is entailed to the male line, but they have no sons. On Mr. Bennet's death, the estate will go to a distant cousin and the women will lose their home."

"Netherfield sounds almost ideal for you, so why are you considering giving up the lease?"

"My sister Caroline was acting as my hostess, but she hated it there. She said there was no society worthy of her notice as none of the locals spend much time in town during the season. I had thought that Miss Bennet would make a perfect wife for me and I thought she was beginning to return my regard, but my sisters and Darcy convinced me she wanted me only for her family's security. When I had to go to town on business, my sisters and Darcy followed me and Caroline closed up the house. I did not even get to say good-bye and now Miss Bennet probably hates me for leaving her just like that, without a word. Now I do not know what to do. If I go back now after nine long months with no word during all that time, what will they think of me? She is so attractive she may very well have another suitor by now."

Georgiana was delighted to hear all this as it might just fit with her plans. "Mr. Bingley, if I were this Miss Jane, yes, I would be disappointed in your leaving like that, but I would be so happy to see you again that I would forgive you, especially if you came with many apologies and sweet words. If you were quite sure that she would make the perfect wife for you and you do not go back to see if she still holds you in her regard, how will you ever know if you missed your best chance at happiness? You may never find another woman like her.

"You know, if you had good shooting there last year, why not go back for more this year? I am sure my brother would like to go shooting with you, so he would likely be happy to go there with you. In truth, I would like to see Hertfordshire as I have never been there and your estate sounds interesting. As it sounds as if your sisters would not want to go back there, perhaps I could act as the hostess for you and my brother? I understand if you might not be willing just to drop in to the Bennets, but what if you asked Mr. Bennet to shoot with you? You should be able to find out how Miss Jane feels about you before you talk to her. Perhaps I might be introduced to the Bennet ladies and find out for you? Both Miss Jane and Miss Elizabeth sound interesting. If Miss Bennet has no regard for you at all, at least you would know and you could just leave and give up the lease."

"Miss Georgiana, I wish I had spoken to you about this a long time ago. Your plans sound perfect and I hope Darcy agrees to go with me. I will talk to him tonight. My sisters will not be happy, but we were planning to go to our relatives farther north after leaving Pemberley, so I will tell them to go without me. I would much rather visit Netherfield than go with them."

When Darcy returned from speaking with the farmer, they remounted and continued their tour. Darcy wondered why Bingley was suddenly in a good mood, but he did not ask. He was just pleased that the early harvest was going well, and he was glad to have his sister with them as it got her away from Bingley's sisters for a few hours. He thought that this was likely the reason why she seemed to be a good mood as well.

That evening, when the ladies had left the dinner table, Bingley hesitated to speak to Darcy about returning to Hertfordshire because Hurst was with them. He decided that he had to wait until they were alone. Georgiana hated to be left with Mr. Bingley's sisters, but she knew that she had to continue to act as a good hostess or Miss Bingley would take over. She led them to the music room so she could begin to play, rather than sit with them to hear her very boring effusions and unabated desires to become the official hostess and mistress of Pemberley. The men did not take long to return to the ladies as Darcy did not want to leave his sister long in their company without his support.

After Georgiana had played several pieces for the gentlemen and Miss Bingley had a chance to show off her skills, Georgiana said that she was tired and was ready to go up. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst could not stay after their hostess said she was retiring, so they followed her lead, leaving the men to their talk and drinks. Soon Mr. Hurst was snoring, so Bingley found his chance to talk to Darcy.

"Darcy, I have been thinking a lot about Netherfield recently. I am still not convinced that I should have left there the way I did, without even saying good-bye. I still think a lot about Miss Bennet and how much I thought of her. I cannot get over her and really believe that she had been developing strong feelings for me as well. Yes, I know that her mother wanted her to marry me to help them when Mr. Bennet died and that Mrs. Bennet was pushing Miss Jane at me so strongly, but that does not really matter. I know that I have found many attractive angels over the years, but the way I feel about her is different from any of those others. I do not miss any of those other angels, but I miss Jane Bennet. I am not sure in my mind if I made a mistake leaving there the way I did. I want to find out if she still cares for me and I want to go back to Netherfield. I just have to know.

"I have been thinking that we could go there for the shooting. Remember how good the sport was last year? We do not need to make it obvious that I want to find out about Miss Bennet's feelings. We could just go back there and not go to Longbourn. We both know that we will be invited to different events where the Bennets will be as well. If I casually speak to Jane, I will soon know if she still has any feelings for me. That will be less embarrassing for both of us than if I go directly to her.

"Darcy, I have decided that I must go there so I will know for sure if I made a huge mistake. I would like you to go with me, but I will go alone if I have to. I definitely will not invite my sisters to go with me; they can continue our journey to our relatives in the north as we had planned. Hurst will not be able to go with us as he will have to look after my sisters. I know that once Caroline hears my plans, she will do everything she can to convince me to change my mind, but I will not be deterred. I have to know. So, will you join me? I would like to have your company."


	4. Chapter 4

While Bingley was speaking, Darcy's thoughts were in turmoil. He knew very well that Bingley had been depressed ever since they had left Hertfordshire at the end of last November. He also remembered very well Elizabeth's accusation that he had separated Bingley from her sister and that Jane actually had loved him. With this statement, he knew that he had to do something to right the wrong he had perpetrated on his good friend. His worry now was that so many months had passed since they left that Jane's regard might have been lost. However, he thought that if she no longer cared for Bingley, this would show that her regard for him had not been strong. On the other hand, if her feelings for him were still as they had been, that would show that she had, in fact, loved him very deeply. His guilty conscience at what he might have interrupted made him want to go with Bingley, if only to support him.

However, no matter how much he wanted to support his friend and right his wrong, he had no idea how Elizabeth felt towards him now. Her rejection of his proposal had been so bitter and definite that it still hurt him very much to think of her; but, no matter how hard he tried to forget her, he knew he still loved her and wanted nothing more than for her to come to love him. He hoped that his letter detailing Wickham's lies and his attempts to justify his interference with Bingley and Jane may have helped reduce her hatred towards him, but he did not know if she had even read the letter or had simply thrown it away unread. He wanted to see her again, but he knew that a second rejection would devastate him even more than her first.

Oh, how he longed to see her again! To see her fine eyes and incredible smile; to dream that she might smile at him. Did he dare? He knew that if it would make a difference, he would humble himself before her and beg for her forgiveness. But what if she scorned him; laughed at him? Could he endure this? How could he live knowing she still hated him? While one part of him had these dreadful thoughts, another part thought how intelligent she was; how her sense of justice would not allow her just to ignore his letter that she must have known was written in an attempt to explain the actions she had so bitterly accused him of. Would she be more receptive of his attentions? Did he have a chance to win her regard? He had to know. In this, he knew he was just like Bingley; he could not leave it not knowing or he might regret it for the rest of his life.

"Yes, I will go with you. Bingley, I have come to realize that I may have made a mistake in my assessment of Miss Bennet's regard for you. She is so quiet and unassuming, that it is hard to know what she is thinking or feeling. I now believe that she was developing strong feelings for you."

"What do you mean that you now realize you may have made a mistake? What made you change your mind? You have not seen her since last November, have you?"

"No, but I met Miss Elizabeth when I was in Kent visiting my aunt at Easter. She was there visiting her friend Miss Charlotte Lucas, who married Collins, the Bennet's cousin. Miss Elizabeth was quite upset with me because her sister missed you. This is the first chance I have had to tell you. I believe you should go back to Hertfordshire to see if she will accept your attentions.

"I agree that when you go back, you should not approach Miss Bennet directly; that would be too embarrassing for both of you. Whenever you are in her company, just talk to her; watch her reaction to you; try to determine if you see any sign that she may still have feelings for you. I suggest that if you believe you have a chance with her, ask her outright if she would accept a courtship with you. That will give her a chance to say yes or no. If her answer is yes, then good luck to you. If no, then I will be very sorry, but at least you will know. If you approach her properly, I believe she will accept your attentions if she still has feelings for you."

Bingley was thrilled at this response from his friend; he practically bounced on his seat, but he did not want to wake Hurst. Now he had to decide how to tell his sisters that he did not want them to go with him to Hertfordshire, but he hoped that his excuse that they were going only for the shooting would be sufficient. Then, of course, he had to refuse any suggestion that Hurst go with them. Not only did he find the company of his brother-in-law to be boring, but he did not want to give his sisters any excuse to join him at Netherfield. He also was not sure how to tell Darcy that Georgiana wanted to go with them. He definitely would not tell Darcy that this whole idea was hers to begin with. He hoped she would find a way to convince Darcy to agree to let her accompany them.

The next morning at breakfast, when Georgiana went down, she again found that her brother and Bingley were already there and they were again talking about riding out to another part of the estate. Georgiana said, "Fitzwilliam, I really enjoyed riding with you yesterday. Do you mind if I join you again today?"

Darcy answered, "Are you sure? Would you rather not stay here to keep Bingley's sisters company?"

Georgiana hoped he was teasing her. "I have missed riding and would really like to go out with you. I believe the ladies will find things to do here; they might even keep Mr. Hurst awake. What part of the estate are you going to today?"

"Now, Georgie, we must never talk about any of our guests like that. Poor Mr. Hurst is Bingley's brother-in-law, so we must not make him feel bad about his relatives. I want to go to the north farms today, and yes, you are very welcome to come with us."

When they were riding out, Bingley asked Darcy about their trip to Hertfordshire. Georgiana played innocent and asked what they were planning to do, so Darcy had to tell her. "Oh!" she said, "I would love to see Hertfordshire. I have never been there and from what you said, it is pretty country. Who all is going for the shooting? Will it be a large party?"

"No, just Bingley and me. We expect to invite some of the local gentlemen to join us and will likely be invited to shoot on some other estates as well. I would not be surprised if we will be invited to dine with some of the families there. The local gentry was quite hospitable when we were there last year."

"Were you planning to leave me here? I would much rather go with you. Of course, I would not go shooting, but I will be able to entertain myself if Netherfield has a piano.

"Mr. Bingley, is there a piano there? Do you have a horse that I could use, and a side saddle?

"Fitzwilliam, if I go, I could act as the hostess if you want to invite anyone over for dinner. That would be good practice for me if they are just small dinners. Or were you planning to invite a lady to go with you?" She added this last question just to get a reaction from her brother.

"Of course not! Georgie, please; we certainly do not have any wicked plans, just shooting, and perhaps meeting some of the local people we met before. Would you really like to go? Bingley, would you mind if Georgie came with us? I do not want to leave her here alone."

"No, I do not mind. Darcy, I hate to say this, but usually Miss Georgiana is better company than you. She never gets grouchy like someone I know. However, if we take her with us, we had better not let Caroline know or she might want to come as well. For some reason, I have a feeling that you would not want her to come with us. Or would you?"

"Did you two plan on ganging up on me today? Are you two plotting to keep on doing this for the whole trip? Bingley, you are a bad influence on my innocent sister. She never teased me like this before." Darcy was not really upset; he rather enjoyed the fact that his sister might be losing her shyness.

They all enjoyed their ride and settled on the timing of their visit to Hertfordshire. They all knew that Bingley had the worst task: he had to tell his sisters that he would not be continuing with them on their planned trip to their northern relatives and that none of them were invited to accompany them to Hertfordshire. As they planned to leave for Netherfield quite soon, he also had to tell them that they had to cut their visit to Pemberley shorter than they had planned. It was also up to him not to tell them that Georgiana would be going with them, for fear that Caroline might insist on going with her. Bingley's easiest task was to write to the Netherfield housekeeper telling her to get three rooms ready and to reopen the house for them.

While Bingley had always deferred to his sisters' demands and expectations, especially when they were united against him, this time he kept thinking about Miss Bennet when he told them of his revised plans. Just thinking about meeting with her gave him enough backbone to refuse to give in to their demands. The person most upset with his announcement was Caroline, as she so desperately wanted to be with Darcy for as long as needed until he finally came to realize that she would be the perfect Mistress of Pemberley. The fact that he showed not the slightest interest in her did not deter her efforts in trying to convince him to notice her. However, Bingley refused to change his mind and she finally had to concede defeat.

The Hursts and Caroline left the day before the Darcys and Bingley. The trip to Netherfield was long, but Darcy's largest traveling carriage was comfortable. A second carriage was used to bring Georgiana's maid, the two valets, and the luggage, which included Darcy's favourite guns. As Bingley's letter to his Netherfield housekeeper told her they planned to shoot on the estate, they expected that his gamekeeper would have everything ready for them. They made good time as the weather was favourable, spending just one night on the road.


	5. Chapter 5

They arrived at Netherfield late in the afternoon and found that the housekeeper had everything ready for them. Darcy and Bingley found time to speak to the gamekeeper, who told them that there were a lot of birds on the estate, so they decided to go shooting in the morning while the weather was still favourable for outside activities. Nothing was said about the Bennets as they had decided to wait to meet them at other entertainments that they expected they would be invited to when people learned that they had reopened Netherfield.

At Longbourn, they knew that Netherfield was to be reoccupied as the housekeeper had spread the word in town of her instructions to get the house ready for visitors. As Mrs. Bennet's sister Mrs. Philips was one of the very few locals who still associated with the Bennets, she had told them what she knew. This information caused great consternation among the Bennet ladies. Mrs. Bennet still hoped that Mr. Bingley would renew his interest in Jane, but Jane doubted that he would.

Lizzy asked Jane, "Jane, with Mr. Bingley coming back to Netherfield, are you looking forward to seeing him again?"

Jane was thoughtful for several minutes, and then replied, "I seriously doubt he will want to meet me. He left without a word of good-bye to anyone, so how could I expect him to want to see me again. I guess that his interest in me was not as strong as I had thought. No one has heard a single word from him for nine long months, so he must not have thought much about anyone here. Finally, with our disgrace from Lydia's foolish elopement and ruin, how could he want to have any association with our family? I assume that Mr. Bingley knows of our disgrace as it is so well known by everyone in Meryton. He likely will have heard of it in town. So, no, I have no reason to expect he will want to see me again."

Lizzy could see that the mere thought of Mr. Bingley was upsetting to Jane. "Jane, no matter what, one look at you and I believe he will fall in love with you again. I can only ask that when you do meet him, please give him a chance to explain his actions."

The next morning, Darcy and Bingley left to go shooting quite early, so Georgiana was left alone. As it was such a nice day, she decided to go for a ride, so she changed into her riding outfit and went out to the stables. She spoke to the head groom about a quiet horse for her use. Finding that they had a suitable mare, she asked that it be saddled for her. The head groom advised her that he had received very specific instructions from both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy that she must be accompanied by a groom whenever she went out riding as she did not know the area. As Georgiana did not find this order unreasonable, she did not protest.

When the mare was saddled, she mounted the horse and saw that a young groom was on a horse waiting for her. She turned to him and asked his name. "Brian," he replied very shyly. Brian was young and was not used to being around attractive young ladies who were so far above his station in life. Even though he admired her, he would never dare say anything to her, except to answer direct questions.

"I am Miss Darcy. I do not mind your following me when I ride as I do not know the area. I have never been in Hertfordshire before. Now, can you recommend an easy trail for me to begin with? I want an easy ride today as I do not know this horse. I would like to see more of this country, so is there somewhere I can go with a good view?"

"Miss, I am from Meryton and know the whole area very well. We do not want to go where the gentlemen went this morning as we do not want to interfere with their shooting. If you want a spot with a good view, there is a hill called Oakham Mount that is only a couple of miles from here. You can see a lot of the country from there and there is a trail that the horses can use to get to the top." Brian suddenly realized how much he had said to her and he blushed furiously at his discomposure.

"That sounds just fine. Which way should I go? Just show me the trail, but let me know if I make a wrong turn." With these words, Brian pointed out a faint track and Georgiana rode out, slowly at first until she felt comfortable on this strange horse. Soon she was more at ease on it and urged it into a trot, following the faint trail. In just a couple of miles she saw a hill and asked Brian if that was Oakham Mount. He said that it was and he pointed out a track that led to the top. She rode the horse almost to the top, leaving it tied loosely to a branch where the horse would find grass to graze. She walked up to the top and Brian dismounted his horse where she had left hers. He did not follow her up, but waited with the horses.

When Georgiana reached the top, she was surprised to see a young woman already there, sitting on a log with a book in her hand. She could see by the quality of her dress that she was a lady. She exclaimed, "Oh! Please pardon me. I did not mean to interrupt you; I did not expect to see anyone here. I was just out for a ride and wanted to see the view from the top of this hill."

The young lady stood and Georgiana could see that she was quite short, but very attractive, with curly chestnut-colored hair. "No, do not run away on my account. I often just come up here to read in the peace and quiet. This is my favourite place to get away." When she saw Brian with the horses, she waved at him and he waved back, showing that they knew each other. "You must be part of the Netherfield party. I know Brian is a groom there."

Georgiana wondered if this lady might be a Bennet as she was obviously a local. "Please excuse my manners; I should have introduced myself. I know that people are much friendlier in the country than in the city. Yes, I am staying at Netherfield with my brother and Mr. Bingley. My name is Miss Georgiana Darcy, from Derbyshire."

To say that Elizabeth was surprised is definitely an understatement. She was shocked to think that this elegant young lady was Miss Darcy, whom she assumed would be cold and haughty, like her brother. Instead, she was friendly and polite, even though she seemed to be quite shy. "Miss Darcy, please forgive my manners. I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet, of Longbourn, which is just over that way." She pointed in a direction that was not too far from where she thought that Netherfield House was located.

Georgiana was shocked at her good luck. She had racked her brain but could not think of a way to meet this particular lady, and here she was, the very first morning of her visit in Hertfordshire. "Miss Elizabeth, I cannot believe my luck at meeting you here like this. I came all the way from Derbyshire just to meet you."

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to be stunned; she could not believe what she just heard. "Miss Darcy, forgive me, but I cannot believe what you just said. How on earth do you know anything about me? How do you even know my name?" Suddenly she wondered if Mr. Darcy had said anything to his sister about what had happened in Hunsford. She coloured a bright red on thinking that her rude rejection of her brother's offer might be known to Miss Darcy.

While Georgiana was usually very shy, she knew that she had to take full advantage of this opportunity to speak alone with Miss Elizabeth. She said, "Miss Elizabeth, may I sit with you? There is so much I want to talk to you about." When Elizabeth sat down again, she indicated that Georgiana should sit beside her. "Please forgive me if I speak very plainly. I know a little about you and my brother, and I suspect even more. I know my brother met you here last fall and again in Kent this past Easter. I know he returned from Kent devastated from something that happened there. I know that whatever happened in Kent utterly destroyed him. I know that I have never seen him so unhappy before. I know that he mentioned your name in his letters both from here and from Kent, which was unusual as you are the only woman he has ever mentioned by name in any letter to me. Every time he mentioned your name, it was to praise something about you. I know that he sees you as his ideal woman from something he said when he was in his cups."

Lizzy was becoming quite uncomfortable at Miss Darcy's words. She feared there was worse to come, and she was not disappointed at what she heard next. Georgiana had to rush her words while she still had sufficient courage to continue.

"I suspect that he began to develop a strong regard for you here and that his regard became stronger when he met you again in Kent. I suspect that his regard became a deep love for you. I suspect that he made you an offer of marriage in Kent. I suspect that you refused him. I know that he still loves you very deeply; in fact, I am very sure of that. I suspect that he came here just to see you again, to see if your feelings had changed. I suspect that you do not know your effect on him; your hold on him. I know he will never get over you. I admit that I came here just to try to convince you to give him another chance. My brother is the best of men, so I am concerned that you have a mistaken impression of him."

With these words, Georgiana seemed only now to realize what she had said, so he hid her face in her hands, saying, "Please forgive me for speaking to you like this."

Elizabeth was even more shocked to hear these words; she never suspected the intensity of Mr. Darcy's feelings for her or how long they had lasted. While she knew from the letter that he had given her after her refusal in Kent just how wrong she had been about him, she had not realized how drastically her refusal had affected him, or how it would be so obvious to his sister. Wickham's horrific treatment of her sister Lydia had clearly showed her how wrong she had been about that villain, and now Miss Darcy was telling her how wrong she had been about her brother. She felt guilt such as she had never felt before as she believed her inaction about Wickham's true character had destroyed her sister and her whole family. Now she realized she was guilty of destroying what she suspected was the best man she had ever known.

Her feelings overwhelmed her and she could not stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Georgiana was instantly ashamed that her words had affected her so much, and she moved closer to Elizabeth and put her arms around her. "Miss Elizabeth, I am so sorry I said all that. I had no idea how it would affect you. Can you ever forgive me for being so harsh with you?" Miss Elizabeth's distress made her revert back to her normal shy self. Suddenly she realized just how out of character she had spoken.

Elizabeth sobbed, "Miss Darcy, you have no need to be sorry about saying any of this. I am completely to blame for his present state of mind. Yes, he made me an offer of marriage in Kent, and I refused him with bitter words, based mainly on my believing the lies that a scoundrel had said about him. A villain whose name I cannot say to you. A person who proved your brother to be right in denouncing him as he has now destroyed my whole family. Your brother wrote me a letter that clarified their history, showing me how wrong I had been to believe him. I now know that your brother truly is a good person that I treated in a most despicable manner. I wish I could be able to do it all over again, so I would have a chance to treat him better than I did.

"When he made me his offer, I had no idea that he had been developing strong feelings for me. His offer completely surprised me. I did not have the slightest suspicion that he was thinking of me that way. I was upset with him from when we first met as he insulted me by calling me only 'tolerable' to look at and refusing to dance with me. I was even more upset with him as he misunderstood my sister's regard for Mr. Bingley when he separated them, but I now know that he was only looking out for his friend from what appeared to him to be an unequal regard. My sister just does not show her feelings, but she truly loved him. Even I had trouble seeing how deeply she felt about him. I believe that she still has feelings for him."

Georgiana was confused at something that Elizabeth had said. "Are you referring to George Wickham? Do your words mean that you know my history with him? What has he done to destroy your family? Please tell me."

"Yes, I am referring to that despicable person. Your brother told me about your near elopement with him to convince me how wicked he is. Mr. Wickham was an officer in the militia regiment that was stationed here all winter. When they went to Brighton, my youngest sister Lydia was invited by the colonel's wife to go with her as her guest. I tried to convince my father not to let her go, but I could not tell him all that I know about this person as I could not reveal your story. Lydia eloped with him from Brighton and they were traced to London, but not beyond. My father and uncle searched for them, but to no avail. Wickham eventually simply abandoned her there with nothing. She managed to walk to our uncle's home in Cheapside, devastated. My father had no choice but to bring her home in her ruined state. All the people in Meryton had heard about her behaviour as my mother could not stop from bragging that she was going to be married to an officer. When the marriage did not take place, she complained about how wicked he was to treat her favourite daughter so reprehensively. Now we are shunned by everyone except for my Aunt and Uncle Philips who live here in the village. I assume everyone believes that all of us Bennets are just as wanton as Lydia, even though the rest of us have never given anyone any reason for their believing this.

"Miss Darcy, when your brother hears about our disgrace, he will not be pleased to hear that you have been talking to me. He will not want even the slightest chance that you will be tainted just from associating with me. It is best if you just leave me now before anyone finds out that we talked this morning."

"Oh, no, Miss Elizabeth! I cannot believe that he will tell me to shun you. If he loves you as I believe he does, he must know that you are nothing like your sister. There is something that I need to know. You said you wish you had a chance to treat him better than you did. Does that mean that you might be willing to give him a chance to try to win your regard? Please say yes. I want him to be happy and I believe he will make you happy as well. He is such a good person."

"I do not believe I will ever see him again, once he hears of our disgrace, so your question if I will give him another chance is highly unlikely to be relevant. But thank you for thinking of me. Now, I had better head for home before they miss me." Lizzy got up from her log and started to leave.

"Please wait. I would like to talk to you some more. Will you be here again tomorrow?"

"Probably, if the weather is nice; but I cannot promise."

"Then I hope to see you tomorrow. I am so glad that I had this chance to meet you. Good-bye."

When Georgiana went back to her horse, Brian was waiting. "Brian, you seem to know Miss Elizabeth quite well. Is that right?"

"Yes, Miss. I have known her since we were both very young."

"What do you think of her, and how is she viewed in Meryton?"

"Miss Elizabeth is a wonderful person who treats everyone very well, no matter who they are. Right now, some of the people in town have been shunning her, but many of us believe she is being treated unfairly, just because Miss Lydia acted so recklessly. With time, the gossip will be forgotten if Miss Lydia would just go away, but I suppose she has nowhere to go. The Bennets do not seem to have many relatives, except for Mr. and Mrs. Philips and their aunt and uncle in town; but their relatives in town have young children of their own. Both Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth are thought highly of here in spite of their sister's behaviour." While Brian would never have spoken so freely to an attractive young lady before today, the fact that she had seemed to be friendly with Miss Elizabeth seemed to have loosened his tongue.

"Thank you this information, Brian. I have not heard any shots for a while, so I suppose my brother and Mr. Bingley will be back home. I better go there as well."


	6. Chapter 6

When Georgiana got back to Netherfield House, her brother was there to greet her.

"Did you have a nice ride? I heard you went out. You notice that I asked that a groom follow you so you would not get lost?"

"Yes, I did. Brian, the groom, showed me how to get up to the top of that hill you can see in the distance. They call it Oakham Mount, but it is nothing like any of the mountains we have in Derbyshire. I have so much to tell you what I learned while I was there. Where can we go to talk alone? But first of all, tell me how was your sport this morning?"

"We had good shooting, so we will be eating grouse for a while. Come to the library. I notice that it is not well used. No one will interrupt us there."

When they entered the library, she shut the door and sat on a sofa next to him. She took his hand and said, "You will never guess who I met there. Miss Elizabeth Bennet! I was so excited as I really wanted to meet her."

"Miss Elizabeth! How do you know anything about her? How do you even know her name?" Darcy was very confused at what his sister had just said. He had not thought that she had the slightest knowledge of this lady whose memory had haunted him for months.

While Georgiana had not previously spoken about personal subjects to her brother, she forced herself to speak of what she knew. "Fitzwilliam, please do not be upset with me. I was worried why you have been so troubled ever since you returned from Rosings that I had to find out what happened there. I pieced together what I could, from bits of information from your letters, from a comment you made while you were in your cups, and from something that Richard told me. It was obvious to me that something very important happened there; likely something that involved a lady. When I learned that Miss Elizabeth Bennet had been in Kent when you were there, I reread your letters from Hertfordshire and noticed that you had mentioned her name several times. As she is the only woman you have ever mentioned in any of your letters, I thought that it must have involved her, especially since Richard said such nice things about her."

To say that Darcy was surprised to hear his normally shy sister speak of such personal things would be a gross understatement. She continued, "When I met her this morning, I asked her about you and told her what I knew and what I suspected. I told her that I suspected that you still loved her very much. Please excuse me for saying that, but I had to know what happened between you. She told me that you had made her an offer that she rejected quite rudely She told me about your letter and how badly she felt after she learned just how wrong she had been to believe that villain. She said that she wished she could do it all over again as she now realized just how unfairly she had treated you."

Darcy was very interested at her words; he could not believe what he was hearing.

"I asked her if she would give you another chance to earn her regard, but then she told me something dreadful. It seems that when the militia regiment left here to go to Brighton, the Colonel's wife invited her youngest sister, Miss Lydia Bennet, to go there as her guest. Miss Elizabeth tried to convince her father not to let her go, but he allowed it. Wickham somehow convinced Miss Lydia to elope with him from Brighton and they went to London. Her father and uncle searched for them but could not find them until she turned up at her uncle's house in Cheapside after Mr. Wickham abandoned her without a word. Of course, she is ruined and her father did not know what to do with her, so he brought her home. Now all of Meryton, except for her Aunt and Uncle Philips, are shunning the whole family for Miss Lydia's disgrace.

"Miss Elizabeth said that I should not even be talking to her as her disgrace might reflect on me! I asked Brian about them and he believes that the gossip will die down if Miss Lydia goes away, as the two oldest Bennet sisters are highly regarded here. Fitzwilliam, I like her very much already. I want you both to be happy and I believe you can make each other happy. What can we do to fix this?"

Darcy was amazed at what his normally shy little sister had said and done. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Georgie, I cannot believe how much you figured out with such little information. You are amazing and I cannot tell you how impressed I am. I had no idea about their disgrace because of her sister's action, but, knowing how reckless and undisciplined Miss Lydia was when I was here last year, I am not too surprised that she did something so foolish. I hate to say this, but you know how convincing that scoundrel can be with innocent young ladies.

"Poor Miss Elizabeth! Poor Miss Bennet! You know that Bingley really likes Miss Bennet? He is in the same situation I am. We both came here hoping to renew our acquaintance with them with hopes for the future. Now I am not sure what to do. Georgie, I hope you realize that if I married Elizabeth and if her sister's disgrace became known in town, it could affect your name and your future? It is possible that the best people might shun us as well. I certainly do not want that. The best way to get over this disgrace would be if Wickham married Miss Lydia, but he has obviously disappeared, probably deep into the slums of London. Even if we found him, would we want him to be part of our family, as he would be if I ended up marrying Miss Elizabeth? I wonder if the gossip would die down if Miss Lydia married someone else? With enough money, I am sure we could find someone reasonable who would marry her. Do you know if she is with child?"

"No, I do not know. Miss Elizabeth did not say anything about that."

"We have to find out. I will talk to Bingley and tell him what you learned about the Bennets. Then we have to figure out a plan." Darcy kissed her on her cheek. "Thank you for all you have done. I am glad to know what happened, even though it makes things more difficult for us. We will work it out. Did Miss Elizabeth say if she would take another walk tomorrow?"

"She said that if the weather was nice, she would likely be on Oakham Mount in the morning. I said that I would meet her there."

"Do you mind if I go in your place? I would like to meet her so I can apologize for how badly I made my offer in Kent." After receiving her approval for this, He went out to find Bingley.

He found Bingley and told him everything that Georgiana had learned. Bingley was not as worried as Darcy for his family's reputation as he was still trying to rise up in society from his family's roots in trade. He had less to lose as his family was not well known in town. He felt that his sister Caroline might be upset, but that did not bother him much. However, Bingley did appreciate Darcy's concerns for his own sister's future. Together, they tried to think of what they could do to lessen the Bennet's disgrace.

They decided that they first had to learn if the two Bennet sisters would even receive them at all. Hoping for the best, they thought that they would have to get Lydia away from Meryton and find her a husband if they had a chance to renew their pursuit of them. The only place they could think of was Pemberley as it was so far removed from Hertfordshire. What they did enthusiastically agree on was to ask the Bennet sisters if they would accept courtships. If they would, they would take Lydia away and look for a man willing to marry her if Darcy provided her with a dowry.

The next problem they discussed was how they could convince Lydia to go to Pemberley as they had no idea of her present state of mind. If she was still as she was last fall, she may not even realize just how rash and foolish she had been to elope with Wickham. Darcy hoped that the effect of his abandonment of her in London should make her more reasonable, perhaps even depressed. If she did understand the seriousness of her present situation, then she should be more amenable to their suggestions.

Another problem was that they were not sure how they could take her to Pemberley. It would not be appropriate for them to take her there alone, even though she was now thoroughly ruined. As gentlemen, they just could not take her there by herself. What they would really like to do was to invite her two oldest sisters to go with her, but this was also completely inappropriate. They were also unsure of Mr. Bennet's frame of mind. If he was still as unconcerned about his family's behaviour as he had been last fall, he may not be amenable to doing anything to help his daughters overcome their present disgrace. However, Darcy believed that his love for his oldest two daughters should make him realize that he had to do something to lessen their present degradation. Darcy wondered if Mr. Bennet might be convinced to bring his daughter up to Pemberley where they could look for a husband for her. Of course, he was willing to provide a modest dowry for Lydia to help her secure someone who would marry her. Darcy hoped that Mr. Bennet would agree to have Miss Elizabeth go with them as he wanted nothing more than to be with her until she consented to be his wife.

Darcy and Bingley agreed that the best approach would be for Darcy to speak to Miss Elizabeth alone as they knew she would be able to let them know how Mr. Bennet might react to their suggestions. Darcy worried that she might not even want to be alone with him, but he had to try. They agreed that Darcy would go to Oakham Mount in the morning to talk to her.

After speaking with Bingley, Darcy wrote a note to his cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, who was currently stationed in London. Richard was in the regular army and was more like a brother than a cousin as they had been much together when they were growing up. Richard shared guardianship with Darcy for Georgiana and loved her as much as if she had been his own little sister. Richard was fully aware of Wickham's character and his attempt to elope with Georgiana. When he had heard what Wickham had attempted, Darcy had had to restrain him as he wanted nothing more than to find Wickham and run him through. Darcy told him the story of Wickham's joining the militia and being stationed in Meryton and his elopement with Elizabeth's sister.

Richard had been with Darcy in Kent and had been very impressed with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, so much so that he wished he had had the finances to pursue her himself. As the younger son of an earl, he was well aware that everything would go to his older brother, so he knew he had to find a wife who had a very good dowry if he wanted to be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. While he was not fully aware of Darcy's deep attraction to Elizabeth or his ill-fated offer of marriage, he had known that Darcy had met her in Hertfordshire and had been attracted to her, even though he did not show it in any obvious way. When Darcy wrote of Wickham's elopement with Elizabeth's sister, he was enraged and angry at Darcy for not allowing him to have confronted Wickham before.

Richard knew that Wickham had to be stopped before he ruined any more innocent young ladies. Darcy had written that Wickham had abandoned Miss Lydia and did not want him to be forced to marry her as they both knew Wickham would make his wife miserable because of his dissolute habits. Richard fully agreed that Wickham had to be punished, and his apparent desertion of his post in the militia was the perfect way to stop him, if he could be found. Darcy had offered to fund a reward for Wickham's capture, and this, as well as the army's attempts to stop desertions while they were busy fighting Napoleon, made Richard confident that he would be found and punished.

Richard went to the general in command of the London garrison and told him the full story of Wickham, including his knowledge of Wickham's character and his elopement with a young lady and his abandonment of her. Richard also mentioned that a "friend of the young lady's family" had offered a reward for Wickham's capture. The general immediately demanded that Wickham's regimental colonel, named Forster, provide a formal charge of desertion against Wickham. By doing so, he effectively took control of the search for Wickham away from the militia to the regular army. He had posters printed of Wickham's crime of desertion and the offer of an award for his capture. Richard provided details of what he knew of Wickham's habits and associates, including the name of Mrs. Younge, who had helped him in his attempt to elope with Georgiana. Soon, soldiers were sent out to make enquiries about Wickham in all of his former and likely haunts. Scouts were assigned to watch Mrs. Younge's establishment for anyone who might be Wickham. Richard wrote to Darcy telling him of all these developments and his optimism about the likely success of their endeavours.


	7. Chapter 7

Early the next morning, Darcy had his horse saddled. He asked Brian to show him the path to Oakham Mount, so Brian led him to the bottom of the hill and indicated the easiest way for his horse to go to the top. Elizabeth was there, sitting on her favourite log with a book in her hand. She heard a horse approaching and expected to see Georgiana. However, she was stunned to see that it was Mr. Darcy, who dismounted and loosely tied his horse where it could graze on the grass. He approached her, bowed very politely, and said, "Good morning, Miss Elizabeth. Please do not be concerned that I came in place of my sister. I just want to talk to you. Will you do me the honour of listening to me?"

Elizabeth curtsied and returned his greeting politely, but she was very wary of him. She did not sit back down, nor did she invite him to sit.

"First of all, I would like to apologize at how badly I made my offer to you at Hunsford. Whenever I think about what I said and how I said it, I am ashamed of myself. Your reproaches struck home and I have regretted my words and behaviour every minute since then. I was so blind to my attitude and actions that I deserved everything you said to me. Since then, I have tried to change; I hope I am a better person now. Can you ever forgive me?"

Elizabeth was shocked even more on hearing how he was humbling himself; this was something she had never expected to see from him. He, who had always appeared to be so proud of himself, now appeared to be a different person. "Mr. Darcy, it is I who should be apologizing to you. When I read your letter, I realized just how wrong I was. I am ashamed of how I treated you and what I accused you of. I had been so proud of how well I was able to identify people's character and merit, but I was completely wrong about both you and Mr. Wickham. He had all the appearance of goodness, but you were the one with all the integrity. I knew what he was like after I read your letter; I tried to convince my father not to allow Lydia to go to Brighton with the militia, but I was either not persistent or strong enough in my arguments. Mr. Darcy, I am heartily ashamed of my words and behaviour to you and can only beg that you will find it in your heart to forgive me." With these words, she sat down and began to sob.

Darcy could not stop himself on seeing her sadness; he sat on the log beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "Elizabeth, please do not cry. I do not blame you for anything; I actually want to thank you for showing me just how wrong I was, how overly proud I was then. I have sincerely tried to be better person, a person worthy of you." Darcy was still holding her against his chest. She did not try to pull herself away as she was finding how comforting it was to be held like this by him. "Elizabeth, my dearest Elizabeth, I love you very much but I do not want to make the same mistakes that I made before. I still want to be with you forever, but I will not rush you; I want to give you enough time to get to know me better. Might I ask if you will accept a formal courtship with me, or should I wait even to ask for this?"

"Mr. Darcy, as much as I would like to start over again with you, surely you know that I cannot accept anything from you as my family is disgraced? I cannot allow you to be associated in any way with me as it would reflect so badly on you and your sister."

"Elizabeth, Bingley and I know all about what Miss Lydia did and how she is viewed by the people here. We talked about what we might do to help your family overcome this problem and thought if we could take her away from here and find her a husband, that the gossip would lessen over time and your family would once again be accepted in society. We are unsure of your father's attitude, but do you think he would allow me to take her away, probably to Pemberley as it is so far from here, so we can try to find a husband for her? Of course, I do not want to be separated from you, so I would ask you to go with her. Would your father come with us to make it all proper?"

"Mr. Darcy, would you really do that for us? Should you be associated with us in any way at all? Are you not afraid of the effects on your sister just by association?"

"Elizabeth, I will do anything for you. If we do this right, it should work as long as the gossip begins to lessen when she is gone from here. I will provide her with a dowry to increase her appeal as a potential wife. Do you know if she is with child? That might make a serious difficulty for some men. What about your father?"

Elizabeth was embarrassed at what she had to say, as this topic was never mentioned in polite society, especially between unmarried men and women. "She may be, but we cannot be sure yet. Yes, if she is not here, the gossip will lessen, but it will take time to die out. As for my father, he is devastated; now he realizes the mistakes he made by not controlling my youngest sisters' behaviour. I believe he will agree to anything you propose to help us get over this. Just what are you thinking of doing?"

"I was thinking of asking him to bring her to Pemberley, along with you. My sister and I will go with you and I will quietly ask around to see if we can find someone suitable for her to marry. To keep everything proper, I do want to ask your father for his permission for me to court you, if you will agree. We should do all this quite soon."

Elizabeth was feeling much less depressed when she considered his plans.

"Another question is about Bingley and Miss Bennet. After what you had told me in Kent, I made a serious mistake in not seeing her regard for him. I spoke to Bingley and he still loves her and wants to ask her for a courtship as well. I know this is a very personal question, but would she be receptive of him, assuming we can get over this current problem?"

"Yes, I believe that she still has a strong regard for him and would likely be very willing to accept him. As for your offer of a courtship with me, I will very gladly accept it if we can get over our present problems, but will go no further than a courtship until we are sure that our present disgrace is gone so it will not affect you or your sister."

"Elizabeth; but I hope you do not if I call you that when we are alone? You are making me very happy; just the possibility of being in your company makes me very pleased. I will try to do whatever I can to help you get to know me better, so I would appreciate if you would tell me if I do anything that I should not have done. Two more questions: When should I go to talk to your father? How and when should Bingley meet Miss Bennet?"

"Should I call you Fitzwilliam when we are alone? Our situation in Meryton is so bad that it would be best if you spoke to my father as soon as possible. He may need time to think about your plans before he agrees. However, he feels so badly about allowing Lydia to go to Brighton that I believe he will do anything to try to get over our disgrace."

"As for Mr. Bingley, I would like to talk to Jane first to get her used to the idea that he is still interested in her. I will let you know what she says. If I come back here tomorrow, will you come? I assume it will not rain. You should bring Miss Darcy with you as we do not want any more gossip about us meeting alone up here. Word does seem to get around very quickly."

Darcy got up and took her hands, kissing them both even though she was wearing gloves. "I will ride straight to Longbourn. I see that Brian is still here so he can show me the best way to get there. I assume we can trust him not to say anything about our meeting here?"

"I will speak to him before you go. I have known him for many years and I do trust him. I will see you tomorrow, then." Elizabeth went with Darcy to the horses and she spoke to Brian. Darcy mounted and let Brian lead the way to Longbourn.

When they arrived at Longbourn, Darcy assured Brian that he knew the way back to Netherfield, so Brian returned home. Darcy knocked on the door and handed his card to Mrs. Hill, asking to see Mr. Bennet. Needless to say, Mrs. Hill was very surprised to see Mr. Darcy, as she recognized him from the previous fall. Even though it was well before normal visiting hours, she could not refuse entry to a man of his standing. She went to the library to give Darcy's card to Mr. Bennet and he told her to bring the caller to him. He had no idea why Darcy wanted to see him and could think of no possible motive for his calling at Longbourn, especially so early.

Darcy entered the library and shut the door behind him. "Good morning, Mr. Bennet. I hope I find you well today?"

"Good morning to you, too, Mr. Darcy. I admit that I have no idea why you are here. Neither you nor Bingley has been in these parts for many months. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Mr. Bennet, I will be very open with you. I am here because of your daughter Miss Elizabeth. Do you have time to hear a long story?"

"I have nothing but time, so go ahead."

"When I was here last year with Bingley, I began to admire your daughter for her obvious intelligence, her broad knowledge, and her sparkling disposition. While I did not appreciate her beauty at first, I came to realize how attractive she is."

"Really? I heard that you found her to be only tolerable to look at."

"I have regretted that comment for many months. I was wrong, both in my appreciation of her appearance and in saying it at all. I have since apologized to her for that very inappropriate remark. If I may continue; I began to develop a strong regard for her but felt that the differences in our stations were too great for me to pursue her, so I left.

"We met again in Kent when she was visiting Mrs. Collins at Easter, and I was again often in her company. It was there that I realized that my regard for her had not abated, but had actually grown. I very rashly asked for her hand but she rejected me, quite properly, as she had no idea of my regard for her and she had unfortunately believed tales told about me by that villain, Wickham. I told her the truth of my dealings with that nasty piece of work, but I had to leave for town before she could absorb the information that I had given her about him."

Mr. Bennet sat wondering where this dialogue was heading.

"I returned to my estate of Pemberley in Derbyshire to try to get over her, but I found that I could not. Bingley came to visit and I found that he regretted his separation from Miss Bennet. Together we decided that we had to try once again to win their regard, so we came here with my sister. I assure you that I had no idea of what Wickham had done to your youngest daughter and your resulting problems here with your neighbours.

"Yesterday, while Bingley and I were out shooting, my sister happened upon Miss Elizabeth when she was out riding and they introduced themselves and talked. They must have felt an instant rapport as Miss Elizabeth told my sister of your humiliation and the reasons for it. My sister knows Wickham and knows how evil he is, so they had something in common. My sister, in turn, told me everything last night. This morning, I met Miss Elizabeth and spoke to her quite openly. I told her that my regard for her was still very strong and she admitted that her feelings for me were different from when she refused my hand."

"So you met her alone this morning? Was that by design?"

"She had expected to meet my sister again, but I went in her place. Brian, the Netherfield groom was there, so we were never alone. I asked Miss Elizabeth for a formal courtship, which she refused because of your current difficulty. She felt that if I were in any way associated with your family, it might affect me and my sister. I have to admit that she just might be correct. However, Mr. Bennet, I must tell you that I truly want her as my wife, so I will do whatever it takes to help you get out of this mess.

"I will do anything to win her regard and her hand. I believe that the gossip will begin to die down if we get Miss Lydia out of Hertfordshire and find her a husband. I am willing to host you at Pemberley if you will bring her there while we look for someone who will marry her. I will provide her with a modest dowry to help find a husband for her."

Mr. Bennet interrupted him, "Mr. Darcy, are you that serious about my Lizzy?"

"I admit that I am willing to do this only because I want to court Miss Elizabeth with the hope of winning her regard so I can once again ask for her hand. If you approve of my request and suggestion, I will ask her again with hopes of winning her acceptance. I will have to ask, if you are willing to bring Miss Lydia to Pemberley, that you also bring Miss Elizabeth with you so I can properly court her." Darcy was quiet then, waiting for Mr. Bennet's response.

"My goodness, Darcy, you must be serious about my Lizzy if you are willing to do all that for her. Why my Lizzy? You could have any woman you wanted with your position and income. How will your family and friends react if you do marry an unknown lady from a small estate who has only a small dowry and no connections? I know what a gem she is, but other people do not know anything about us."

"Mr. Bennet, I have been looking for a wife for several years, but I have not met anyone like her. She is so intelligent and well-read; much different from the typical women who have been thrust at me by their mothers in town. Her lively personality will complement my more staid one, and she knows about running an estate. I liked and appreciated her before I began to love her and I find her appearance very attractive; in fact, one of the most handsome women of my acquaintance. I am sure that she is the perfect woman I want to share my life with. She is certainly not attracted to me just for my income, so she must feel the same way that I do about her, if she will ever accept me."

"Well, Darcy, you have convinced me that you really do love my Lizzy, so I will do whatever I can to help you win her and get over our present difficulties. I believe that it will be a good idea for me to take Lydia to Pemberley to get her out of here to give the gossips less to talk about. If Lizzy agrees, I will bring her as well. I just hope that the rest of my family will help by letting the talk die down when we are away. I will not tolerate any trouble from Lydia, but I expect she will not give me any problems as she finally realizes how foolish her actions have been. Wickham's abandonment of her was a great shock to her; she truly believed that he loved her, but now she sees him as he really is. I have tried to talk to her about acting more like a lady and to stop being such a silly flirt. I expect that if we do find someone who will agree to accept her as his wife, she will agree. Of course, we will have to investigate these men very carefully so that we present only decent men as potential husbands for her. I will rely on your judgment as well as my own.

"Another thing we must think of: we do not want you to be stigmatized by having a wife who brought a ruined sister with her to Pemberley. This situation will be even worse if Lydia is with child. I think that we should claim she is a war widow, so she should use a different name. Of course, we will have to tell a prospective husband the truth, but if you do give her a dowry, that will help make her more enticing. I will speak to both Lizzy and Lydia about our plans."

Having reached an amicable agreement, Darcy soon left for Netherfield.


	8. Chapter 8

That afternoon, Mr. Bennet called for Lizzy and Lydia in his library. He said, "Well, I had a very interesting visit this morning from Mr. Darcy. I will speak very plainly to you as he offered a way for us to overcome our present disgrace. I admit that I was very surprised when he said that he was captivated by Lizzy and he wants to pay court to her. However, Lydia, your foolish actions could prevent your sister from marrying a man of his consequence. Darcy must want Lizzy very much to consider her in spite of our disgrace, so much that he is willing to try to find a solution to our problem.

"Lydia, you must know that the only way for us to regain any respectability is for you to marry and for us to make up a story that makes you appear to have acted decently. With time, the gossip should end and we will be able to hold our heads high once again. Lydia, Mr. Darcy and I will look for a man who is willing to marry you, even if you are with child. Mr. Darcy is willing to provide a dowry for you; not a large dowry, but one that will make you more interesting as marriageable material. If we find someone who is in any way decent, I expect you to accept him. That is the least you can do to help your sisters have any future at all."

Lydia had not raised her eyes to her father while he was speaking. "Papa, I know how foolish I was to trust that villain. I see how I have destroyed our respectability so everyone is shunning all of us. I know that I have to get away from Meryton to allow the gossip to end. If my marrying will help my sisters, I will accept the man that you find who is willing to marry me. I would only ask that he be a decent man, but I will have to trust you to ensure that he is. I want to overcome our disgrace, so I will agree to your plans." She began to sob and Lizzy put her arms around her to console her.

Their father continued, "Mr. Darcy suggested that I take you to his estate in Derbyshire to get you away from here. That is a very generous offer. Lizzy, he asks that you come with us so he can court you. If you are willing to come, I will take you as well. I know that this might make you uncomfortable if you still feel a dislike for him, so I hope that you now have an open mind about him."

Lizzy was embarrassed to be asked so bluntly about her feelings, but responded, "Papa, I know that I seriously misjudged Mr. Darcy, because of his insult to me at that Assembly and because I believed Mr. Wickham's lies. I know that he is actually a very good man, so I am willing to enter into a courtship with him so we can get to know each other better. So, yes, I will go with you and Lydia to Pemberley."

Mr. Bennet continued, "To prevent the people in Derbyshire from learning the whole truth about Lydia's disgrace, we will introduce her as a war widow with her dead husband's name. We do not want any of your disgrace to reflect on Lizzy where people hopefully will not have heard of the Bennets. Why not use the name Mrs. Lydia Freeman? If we are all in agreement, I will tell your mother that we will be gone for some time."

Lizzy asked, "What about Jane? I believe that Mr. Bingley returned to Netherfield to renew his acquaintance with her."

"I just hope his regard for Jane is strong enough so that he can ignore our disgrace; perhaps we can convince him to meet with her quietly until the gossip ends. Lizzy, you seem to have a way to communicate with Netherfield. Perhaps you might suggest he come to talk to me before he does anything else? Even better, I will go to Netherfield to talk to him and to tell Mr. Darcy that we agree with his plans. Until everything is organized, do not say anything to anyone about our plans. Now, if there are no further questions, you may go."

That night, when Lizzy was dressed for bed, she went into Jane's room. Jane was brushing her hair, so Lizzy took the brush and took over the task. "Jane, you know that Miss Darcy's visit means that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley are here at Netherfield?" Jane blushed and nodded. "Yesterday morning, I walked up to Oakham Mount, as I often do. I was sitting there enjoying the sunrise, when I heard a horse come up. It was a young lady I had never seen before. I saw that Brian, the Netherfield groom, was with her. She apologized for disturbing me and I asked if she were staying at Netherfield. We talked and I was very surprised to find that it was Miss Darcy and she said she had come all the way from Derbyshire to find me! She said that Mr. Darcy had been very depressed since he returned from visiting his aunt in Kent and she finally figured out that he had had problems with a woman there. She asked questions of different people and reread all his letters and decided that I was the woman who had so distressed her brother. She and Mr. Bingley talked and she learned that he was also very unhappy after he left Netherfield as his sister convinced her that you had no real regard for him. Miss Darcy convinced him to come back to learn if you still had any feelings for him. Together, they decided that they had to convince Mr. Darcy to come back to Netherfield so he could meet me again.

"Jane, Mr. Bingley still loves you and desperately wants to know what your feelings for him are. I believe that you do miss him and I hope you are willing to give him another chance. All that I ask is that you give him an opportunity to explain why he went away without even saying good-bye. I suspect his sisters had a large part in not allowing him to say good-bye properly. Jane, if you do want to give him another chance, I suggest that you make him work to regain your regard. Make him ask for a courtship so you both will have time to be sure of your feelings. Jane, I believe you two are perfectly suited for each other, so please give him a chance."

Lizzy's words affected Jane very strongly. She had tried to forget Mr. Bingley, but he had never left her thoughts. To think that he had also felt the same about her! How could she face him now? Could she forgive him? How could she not?

Jane turned to Lizzy and sobbed, "Oh, Lizzy, I do not know what I should do!"

Lizzy held her in her arms and said, "Jane, just let your heart tell you what to do. One look at you and he will be lost. Just give him a chance. Now, do you want to meet him alone, or when you are with other people? I am sure that Miss Darcy will help you meet him however you decide. If it were my choice, I would not want to have other people around so he will have a chance to explain himself. Now, I suggest you sleep on all that I have said and I will help you however I can. Good night." Lizzy kissed Jane on her forehead and helped her into her bed.

Early the next morning, Lizzy again walked up to the top of Oakham Mount and sat on the same log. While she carried a book, she did not open it. She waited expectantly to see who might come from Netherfield. She was surprised to see three horses appear, carrying Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy, and Mr. Bingley. They tethered their horses and came to where she was waiting. Bingley arrived first; he bowed to her and said, "Miss Elizabeth, how are you? It is so good to see you again. How is your family? How is Miss Bennet?"

Lizzy responded, "Good morning, Mr. Bingley. I am very well; as good as might be expected. Jane is the same, but I believe she would be pleased to see you again. She has missed you." These words caused Bingley to smile very widely. She next turned to the Darcys. "Good morning, Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy. I am pleased to see you this morning."

"Miss Elizabeth; but may I call you just Elizabeth? Please call me Georgiana, or Georgie. My brother has told me about his discussion with you, and I am so glad that you two are talking. I would love to have you as my sister. I hope I am not embarrassing you?"

Lizzy was blushing at her words, so Mr. Darcy spoke up. "Miss Elizabeth, please excuse my sister. Sometimes her enthusiasm makes her forget to be discreet, but I always forgive her." Darcy took Elizabeth's hand and kissed it. He continued to hold her hand. "Did you speak to your father about what we discussed yesterday?"

"Yes, I did, and he agrees with everything you suggested. I believe that he will be going to Netherfield this morning to talk to you again and finalize our plans."

After they talked for a while, Darcy said he wanted to get back to Netherfield to be sure he would be there when Mr. Bennet arrived. Georgiana surprised her brother when she asked to accompany Lizzy back to Longbourn so she could meet her sisters. Bingley immediately said he would like to go with them, but Darcy pointed out that he should meet with Mr. Bennet before he went to meet Miss Bennet, so he should go back with him. Darcy approved his sister's request to go with Elizabeth, but he said he would send Brian to Longbourn to be with her when she returned to Netherfield.

Just before they left, Lizzy addressed Mr. Bingley. "Mr. Bingley, I suggest that you might want to speak to Jane privately so you can apologize profusely and beg for her forgiveness for leaving her as you did. Do not rush her; let her get used to being with you again. If everything goes well, you might give her plenty of time, and then ask if she is willing to enter into a formal courtship with her. Use this courtship to prove that you are worthy of her and I think you will be pleased with the result. If you like, I will take Jane for a walk along the road to Meryton at two o'clock today. If you happen to meet us, I will give you an opportunity to talk privately with her. Now, good day, gentlemen."

Both Darcy and Bingley were impressed by how forthright her words were when she spoke to Mr. Bingley, but they were not upset. They parted, with the gentlemen riding back to Netherfield and the ladies walking to Longbourn, with Georgie leading her horse. Georgie was very enthusiastic over Lizzy's words to Mr. Bingley. "Lizzy," she gushed, "you are a genius. Your words to Mr. Bingley were just what he needed to hear. I know how excited he is to meet with Miss Bennet again, but, if he listens to your advice, he will take things slow and let her have a chance to forgive him.

"Now, if that goes well, we just have you and my brother to sort out. Are you willing to give him another chance?"

"Georgie, when your brother came here yesterday, we talked about our problems and argued over who had the larger share of the blame for what we each said in Kent. He asked me for a courtship and I agreed as long as we can get over our disgrace with Lydia. So, do not worry about us. I realize how badly I treated him and I believe things will end well for us. Besides, Mrs. Reynolds told me what a good man your brother is, so how could I possibly not believe the word of someone who has known him for so long and has seen him both at his best and at his worst."

"Mrs. Reynolds! When did you meet her? Were you at Pemberley? When?"

"My aunt and uncle took me on a tour of Derbyshire this summer and we spent a few days in Lambton as she was raised there. We toured Pemberley after we were assured that you were not in residence. It was in early August."

"But we returned to Pemberley in early August! We must have just missed you. That is too bad, as I would have loved to show you our home. I will be glad to show you the house, the gardens, and the woods when you come up with your father. We should have lots of time, as long as Fitzwilliam does not keep you all to himself."

"Georgie, do not worry about that. I would rather that he takes it slow so we can really get to know each other. I hope he gives us plenty of time."


	9. Chapter 9

When they arrived, they went into the house while Hank, the Longbourn stable boy, came out and took her horse around to the stable at the back of the house. Her mother and her sisters were all in the sitting room, and they all rose when they saw Lizzy enter with a very well-dressed young lady who was not known to them.

"Mother, may I introduce Miss Georgiana Darcy? Georgie, my mother, Mrs. Bennet. These are my sisters, Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia." They all exchanged curtsies, and Lizzy continued, "Just to make sure everyone knows, Georgiana is aware of what Lydia did, but she has known Mr. Wickham for a long time and knows how evil and persuasive he is. She is here at Netherfield with her brother and Mr. Bingley and I met her while she was out riding. The gentlemen are here for the shooting, and she wanted to meet my family as she has heard about us from her brother and from Mr. Bingley."

After the ladies exchanged courtesies, Mrs. Bennet examined this lady carefully and was very impressed by Georgiana's fine clothes and polite manners. She asked her to sit by her. "Miss Darcy, would you like some tea? Lizzy, ask Hill to bring us some and some pastries. Miss Darcy, it is so nice to have company as the people here are not coming to visit us any more, except for my sister, Mrs. Philips. Are you enjoying Hertfordshire?"

While Georgiana was normally very shy on meeting new people, she made an effort as this was Lizzy's family. "Yes, I am, although I have been here for only a couple of days. It is so different from Derbyshire, which is very hilly with high mountains. Here, everything is so different; I love the rolling hills that are so green. The farms seem better than ours, and all of the trees and flowers are different. Have you ever been up north to Derbyshire?"

"No, I have not, but my brother's wife is from there, a small town called Lambton. Have you heard of it?"

"Lambton! It is the closest town to our estate of Pemberley and is just five miles away. We go there for shopping. I would love to meet her to talk about people we might both know. Has she been gone long? Is that your sister who lives here?"

"No. She is my brother's wife and is now Mrs. Gardiner. They live in London where my brother has a very successful import business. I believe she moved from Lambton a number of years ago when her father relocated to London. Do you go to London often?"

"Yes, we have a house in town, and my aunt and uncle live there, so we do spend some time there every year. Both my brother and I prefer the country, so we spend most of our time at Pemberley.

"I see you have a piano. Do you all play?"

Lizzy had allowed her mother to maintain the conversation with Georgiana and she was pleased that she had not once mentioned her nerves or how they were being shunned by almost everyone in Meryton. She answered, "Mary is the best, but I play some; not very well. Do you play?"

"Yes, and my brother just bought me a very nice new piano, so we now have two at Pemberley. My favourite pastime is to practice whenever I can."

"Will you play something for us? Please?"

"Elizabeth, I do not like to play for an audience; I get nervous."

"We would love to hear you play. Come over here; we have quite a few pieces in this pile of sheet music. You should be able to find something that you know. I will turn the pages for you." Georgiana was reluctant, but she went with Lizzy and found a piece she knew. She sat on the piano bench and Lizzy sat next to her. She began to play, hesitantly at first, but more confidently as she forgot about her audience. Everyone could hear that she was very good and they praised her when she finished.

Mary was the most effusive, "Miss Darcy, that was wonderful. You are really very good. I would love for you to help me improve my playing. Will you have time while you are here to spend some time with me?"

"I would like that, but now I should get back to Netherfield before my brother begins to worry about me. He said he would send a groom here to go back with me to make sure I do not get lost. He worries about me." When Hill confirmed that Brian had arrived, she got ready to leave.

Their farewells were heartfelt as they all enjoyed the visit. They made plans for her to come again in the morning, after Georgiana assured Mrs. Bennet that her brother was not worried about her associating with them in their present situation. Lizzy walked out with her to her horse that Brian had ready for her. "Elizabeth, I am so glad I came with you. I wish I had sisters as I see how nice it would be."

"Georgiana, believe me, we were all on our best behaviour today. It can get very noisy with the five of us bickering about one thing or another."

"But you have people you can talk to about anything. I only have my brother and he is so busy and it is just not the same trying to talk to a brother. Lizzy, I hope everything works out with you and my brother; I would love to have you as my sister. He needs you and will do anything for you. Please say you will give him a chance."

"Yes, I will. I have agreed to let him court me and I will likely go to Pemberley with my father and Lydia, so we will spend a lot of time together."

With that, Georgiana rode off and Lizzy went back into the house, thinking of the future.


	10. Chapter 10

When Mr. Bennet arrived at Netherfield, he was ushered into the library, where Darcy and Bingley were waiting. "Good morning, Bingley, Darcy. Bingley, I must say you left here rather suddenly last fall. Are you in the habit of leaving a string of broken hearts wherever you go?"

Bingley was surprised at this attack, which he had not expected. As he did not know of Mr. Bennet's strange sense of humour, he was taken aback at this greeting. His face turned red and he stuttered, "Mr. Bennet, when I left here, I had every expectation of returning very shortly. Unanticipated circumstances changed my plans, but I am here now and I have every intention of correcting any disappointments I may have caused. I assure you that I sincerely regret my change in plans last fall."

"I suppose you expect the women you disappointed to forgive you? What do you expect my Jane to do if you want to renew your attentions to her? Just forgive you?"

Bingley continued to be flustered by these continuing attacks. Darcy just sat back to see how Bingley would react as he privately felt that Mr. Bennet was right to question Bingley's sincerity. "Mr. Bennet, I fully admit that I made a huge mistake in my dealings with Miss Bennet. When I left here, I did have strong feelings for her, but no one believed that she returned my feelings. I now admit that we simply did not know her well enough to detect what she was really feeling. I assure you that my feelings for her are unchanged. When my mistake was pointed out to me, I immediately convinced Darcy to come with me so I could see if she might receive my attentions again.

"My intention is to ask you for your permission to court Miss Bennet, if she will agree. If she agrees, I hope that she will eventually accept my hand in marriage."

"What do you mean when you said that when your mistake was pointed out to you? Who pointed it out?"

Bingley did not want to implicate Darcy, but Darcy saw that he had to admit his involvement in this, "I told him. When I was in Kent, Miss Elizabeth very clearly told me how we had not understood Miss Bennet's feelings as she never displays her emotions publicly. That was one of the very serious accusations she made against me. Now, I hope she will forgive us for my error as we are here now to try to try to make amends for our past mistakes."

Mr. Bennet was not surprised that Lizzy would not have hesitated to make that accusation as she was so close to Jane. He realized that there must be a lot of detail that he had not been told of the interactions between Lizzy and Darcy. "Well then Bingley, I do give you my permission to pay court to Jane if she will have you. However, I must point out that she will have to overcome several serious doubts that she should have about you. First, do you really care for her? If you do, then why did you just leave her last fall? Second, are you constant enough for her, or might your regard stray away from her to someone else? Third, will you continue to pay more attention to the opinions of your family and friends than you will to hers? You had better be prepared to convince her that these concerns are not an issue. As I said, if she will agree for you to court her, you have my approval."

Bingley was visibly relieved to receive his permission, but the accusations stated by Mr. Bennet made him think very carefully about how he should approach his angel.

"Now, Darcy, I spoke to Lizzy and Lydia and they agree with your plans. When will you be ready to go up to Pemberley?"

"We can go any time. I just need to send a message to my Pemberley housekeeper to be ready for us. We could leave in a couple of days, as long as the ladies are ready. Miss Lydia will need to take everything as she will likely not return here for a long while. We can use my carriage, but we will need a second one for the staff and luggage. I will send for one from London as I have several there."

Mr. Bennet thought for a few moments, and then said, "All right, if we are all in agreement, we should plan to leave in four days. Now I am going back home where I know I will have to tell everyone what we have decided to do. I am not looking forward to all the questions I know I will face."

Before he left, he accepted their offer to go shooting with them in the morning. He welcomed this opportunity to get to know Bingley better in more casual circumstances.

When Mr. Bennet returned to Longbourn, he saw that all five daughters and his wife were in the sitting room, drinking tea while sewing or working on remaking bonnets. He helped himself to tea and a pastry and sat down with them. When he was ready to speak, he said, "I am glad everyone is here so I can tell you all what is going to happen. First of all, Mr. Bingley has asked for my permission to ask Jane for a formal courtship. I gave him my permission but warned him that I expect a long courtship so he can prove that he is worthy of her, if she accepts him at all. I warned him that his disappearance for so many months without a word of farewell made him appear in a very bad way."

When he said this, Lizzy went to Jane and hugged her tightly. Jane was very pink on hearing her father's very plain words, but she was smiling very happily. "Father, thank you for giving your permission. I agree that we will need a long courtship so I can be sure of his constancy. However, if he came back after so many months away, that indicates that his regard for me must be strong. He has not forgotten me after all."

Of course, Mrs. Bennet's ecstasy was obvious and very loud. She exclaimed how she was sure that Mr. Bingley would save them all from being thrown out into the hedgerows when Mr. Bennet died. She also talked loudly of the glories of Netherfield, the carriages, the jewelry, and the pin money that Jane would have. Mary moralized about the duties of a wife. Kitty spoke of balls that Mr. Bingley might host. Lydia just sat quietly, wondering at what her fate might bring, and if her father's announcement might affect her.

When the hubbub died down a bit, Mr. Bennet continued, "There is more to hear, so please be quiet. For some reason, Mr. Darcy wants to help us overcome our present situation with Lydia's disgrace. We decided that Lydia has to get away from here so the gossip will die down and not affect her sisters so much." Lydia hung her head at these words. "He offered to take her to his estate in Derbyshire and to try to find someone who might be willing to marry her, even if she is with child. He will even provide a dowry for her to make her more marriageable. I will go with her so I can give my permission if we can find someone. Lydia, I expect you will agree with whomever we find. I will try to find someone who is not too fat, too ugly, or too old. We will introduce you as a war widow, except that we will have to tell the truth to any prospective husband. We even thought of a name: Mrs. Lydia Freeman." Mr. Bennet could not help himself but to tease her as he was wont to do, even in the worst situations.

Mrs. Bennet wailed at the thought of losing her youngest and most favourite daughter, even if it meant that their disgrace should be lessened. She went to Lydia and hugged her tightly.

Mary was the first to question her father, "Father, why would Mr. Darcy go to all of this trouble and expense? Why is he getting involved in our troubles?"

When Mary asked this question, everyone else realized it was an excellent question. They were quiet and looked expectantly at Mr. Bennet, who was smiling. "Oh, yes, there is one more thing. Mr. Darcy asked that I bring Lizzy with us to Pemberley so he can court her, if she will agree to go."

Immediately, all eyes turned to Lizzy in disbelief. "Lizzy, how can this be! I thought you always hated him? I thought he never looked at you except to scorn you! What are you not telling us?"

Lizzy blushed bright red. "I guess we all misunderstood his looks. Rather than looking at me to find fault, he must have been admiring me. I have no idea why he is interested in me." She certainly did not want to tell them all about his offer of marriage in Kent, or his talk with her on Oakham Mount. She tried to look innocent.

Her mother broke the shocked silence. "Elizabeth Bennet! You sly thing! You are not telling us everything. How can you keep such secrets? Ten thousand a year! Imagine what carriages, what jewels, what pin money you will have. Mr. Bingley is nothing compared to him. My dearest daughter! Mary, Kitty, just think of the rich gentlemen she will be able to throw your way. Oh, my nerves! Jane, bring my smelling salts. Quickly!"

Of all the sisters, only Jane knew something about the past relations between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy, but she did not say anything. Mary again was the one to ask the right question. "Lizzy, what do you feel about Mr. Darcy? Will you consent to a courtship with him? Will you go to his estate with Papa?"

Lizzy was still embarrassed at all the attention and these very personal questions. "I admit my feelings toward him have changed since he first came to Netherfield. I do not dislike him. I believe he is a good man who just might suit me as a husband. I am willing to get to know him better; so, yes, I will go with Papa."

Jane expected this answer, so she said nothing. Mary went to Lizzy and hugged her. Kitty just sat there, not believing what she was hearing. Lydia was not sure what she felt as she knew her fate was in Mr. Darcy's hands. In her heart of hearts, she regretted the effects of her actions on her sisters' future.

At two that afternoon, Lizzy and Jane walked toward Meryton. Sure enough, they very soon encountered Mr. Bingley, who was waiting next to his horse. He greeted Jane very shyly, and she returned his greetings in the same manner. When he asked if he might walk with them, Lizzy replied in the affirmative. Soon, she was walking ahead of them. Bingley had offered his arm to Jane, and she accepted it, even though he was encumbered with holding the reins of his horse with his other hand. When they reached the village, Bingley left them, after receiving permission to call on Jane the next day.

"Jane, I knew that as soon as he saw you again, he would be falling in love with you just as much as he had been last fall. Just one look is all it took. Remember; make him regret his leaving so abruptly. Make him earn your regard. I suggest that you make him wait, but please, do show him your feelings for him more than you did last year. I know you two will work it out; he is perfect for you. Do not let Mama push you too fast; take your time."

With these happy words, they did their shopping and returned home to the chaos caused by their mother in her excitement about all the recent events.


	11. Chapter 11

Early in the morning just several days later, the very large Darcy traveling carriage was loaded with the five passengers. The three ladies sat on one side and Darcy and Mr. Bennet sat on the other. Darcy would have preferred a different seating arrangement that would have had him sitting next to Elizabeth, but he knew that was not possible while her father was with them. The second carriage held Darcy's valet, Georgiana's maid, and mounds of luggage. They were seen off by Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Mary, and Kitty, who all hugged Lizzy warmly and Lydia even more, as they knew that it was possible that they might never see her again. Darcy and Georgiana had said their good-byes to Bingley when they left Netherfield. Bingley had not welcomed being left alone, but the thoughts of being with his Miss Bennet every day made him less unhappy.

The trip to Pemberley took two full days. They were lucky as the roads were dry and they made good time as the late fall days were cool, which made it easy for the horses. The farther north they went, the more they saw that the harvests were progressing well and, in some places, were nearly complete. The closer they came to Derbyshire, the more concerned Darcy was that the harvests on his estate had gone well. He had confidence in his steward to make sure that any crises were taken care of, but he normally was there to oversee the work to make sure nothing went wrong. Mr. Bennet, when he was not engrossed in his book, talked to him about estate management while the ladies talked mainly about the sights they were seeing. Georgiana, having made this trip a number of times in the past, contributed to the conversation by describing the natural wonders and towns that they passed.

Their one stop for the night was at a fairly nice inn, where Darcy had reserved their three best rooms, one each for himself and Mr. Bennet, and the inn's largest room for the three ladies. As they were all tired from their long day of traveling, they retired early, although the ladies chatted for some time before drifting off to sleep. They were up early the next morning as they wanted to reach Pemberley as soon as they could. Georgiana became more and more excited as they neared their destination. Finally, they entered a small town that Darcy said was Lambton, which was only five miles from Pemberley. Georgiana described the shops that they saw, and the Bennet sisters noticed that the appearance of the Darcy carriages excited notice from the residents of the town.

Soon they entered a thick wood and Darcy said they had reached his estate. The Bennets were surprised at how extensive these woods were, but finally the carriage stopped, apparently without orders. The Bennets saw that they were on a ridge that offered their first view of Pemberley Manor. Everyone piled out of the carriage to admire the view. As Lizzy had been here earlier in the summer, she knew what to expect, but her father and Lydia were suitably impressed at how large the house was and how well situated it was, with a small lake just in front of it. After a few minutes, they re-entered the carriage and proceeded to the house.

When they reached the house, they found a large number of house staff lined up to greet them, headed up by the housekeeper. Darcy helped them out of the carriage and introduced his guests to Mrs. Reynolds, who recognized Elizabeth as the young lady who had visited the house in the summer. When she mentioned this, Darcy was, to say the least, astonished, as he had not been told of her previous visit, although Georgiana knew. When Mrs. Reynolds mentioned that Miss Elizabeth and an older couple had left just before he arrived on horseback, Darcy remembered that he had seen a carriage leaving just as he was arriving. He shook his head thinking of what might have been different if he had come just an hour earlier; he would have encountered her right here where he had long wanted her. Mrs. Reynolds remembered that Miss Elizabeth had spent some time in front of Mr. Darcy's picture, but had said she knew him only 'slightly.' It was now obvious to her that there was much more to their relationship than she had been told.

Lydia, as planned, was introduced as Mrs. Lydia Freeman, a war widow. Darcy planned to tell everything to Mrs. Reynolds as he had complete confidence in her. In addition, he thought that she may know of someone who might be willing to accept her as a wife.

Mrs. Reynolds showed the Bennet ladies to their rooms, which were close to Georgiana's. They both exclaimed over how nice their rooms were, much larger and nicer than at home. Elizabeth's was even grander than Lydia's, but they both understood why this was. Both ladies had a maid assigned to help them, which was unusual for them as the five sisters shared just one maid at Longbourn.

Mr. Bennet was shown up to his room by a footman and was introduced to Robert, who was to act as his valet while he was there. Robert mentioned that his room was handy to the library, as Mr. Darcy had mentioned that he expected Mr. Bennet would spend a lot of time in that room, exploring books that were new to him.

After they had freshened up, they met in a sitting room for tea, and then Darcy and Georgiana led them on a tour of the house. Elizabeth remembered many of the public rooms from her previous tour, but this time she looked more closely as she thought in the back of her mind that some day she might be the mistress of everything she saw. The Bennets were very impressed with the elegance and furnishings in each room in turn; Mr. Bennet was stunned at the size and number of books in the library. He wanted nothing more than to move right in there. Darcy and Lizzy were expecting this reaction, so they both just smiled. Darcy promised him that he would be very welcome to spend as much time as he wanted there and to borrow any books that he might choose. Lizzy was most impressed by the beautiful new piano in the music room and Georgie said she hoped she would make use of it any time she wanted. She said there was another fine piano that Lizzy could use if the new one was already in use.

Very soon it was time to dress for dinner. Lizzy and Lydia delighted in their own maids as they found their baths ready for them and dresses selected for dinner. Both maids were competent at doing hair, so they both came down looking very nice. Darcy certainly noticed how well Elizabeth looked. She almost had to drag her father from 'just going to have another quick look in the library.'

Dinner was very elegant, with numerous footmen, fine wines, and excellent food. After dinner, Georgiana led the ladies to the music room while Darcy and Mr. Bennet sat with their port and cigars. Darcy said, "In the morning, I plan to go speak to Thompson, the parson, to see if he knows anyone who might be looking for a wife. He knows a lot about everything that goes on in Lambton and the surrounding area. Thompson is reliable, so I am willing to take him into my confidence about her situation. I will also tell Mrs. Reynolds of our plans as she also has good information about everything going on that affects Pemberley. Thompson knows more about Lambton, but she knows more about our staff and tenants. I doubt we would find anyone suitable among our tenants, but there are some reasonable people in the village. If we cannot find anyone around here, I may need to search as far as Derby, but I do not have suitable contacts there. My Uncle and Aunt Matlock have their estate there, but I would rather not involve them in this."

Mr. Bennet asked, "How do you want to handle this? Do you want to try to find someone, and then you talk to him first, and, if he might be suitable and interested, finally get me involved?"

"Yes, that is basically what I had thought might be a good way to proceed. My best hope is with Thompson. If we have to go as far as Derby, then I might get my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam involved, rather than his parents. I am more confident of his discretion. If his parents find out, they may take a negative view of Miss Elizabeth because of her sister. That is the last thing I want as they are quite influential in town."

They soon joined the ladies in the music room, where Georgiana and Elizabeth entertained everyone on the new piano. As everyone was tired from their long day of traveling, they did not stay up late, although Mr. Bennet could not resist going into the library to find a book to take up to his room. Darcy went up with the ladies. As the first room they came to was Elizabeth's, he stopped with her while Lydia and Georgie went on to their rooms.

"Miss Elizabeth, we have not had a chance to talk recently. Do you plan to walk early? I would love to show you the gardens. It should be cool, but not too cold for walking." When she said that she had hoped to walk, if the weather held, he kissed her hands, smiled, and said good-night. Lizzy felt his lips on her bare hands very keenly. His warm attentions to her, on top of her admiration of Pemberley, made her realize that to be mistress of such a great estate would be something, indeed.


	12. Chapter 12

Early the next morning, Lizzy woke, and seeing that the day was clear, dressed to go out. When she left her room, she saw a maid and asked her to direct her to a side door. The maid smiled and said that Mr. Darcy was waiting for her, and then led her down to the correct door.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. I hope you slept well?"

"I did, thank you. I must say that the staff is very efficient. The first maid I encountered knew just where you were and that you were waiting for me."

"There are very few secrets here, especially for the master." Darcy offered his arm to her and they went out the door. "Even though Pemberley is quite a bit larger than Longbourn, the staff is just as interested in everything that happens here. Pemberley may be worse than Longbourn as there have been just the two of us for so many years for the staff to worry about. I am convinced they do worry about the both of us as anything that affects us also affects them. I am sure that they are all speculating about us and whether you will be their next mistress." Elizabeth coloured on hearing this.

Darcy guided her into the gardens and they noticed the fragrance of the late-blooming flowers. "Fitzwilliam, I must compliment your gardeners. When I was here in August, there were so many flowers, and now, there are still as many, but they are different ones. Did you organize the gardens to make sure that there are always some in bloom?"

"I cannot take credit for this. My mother planned the gardens and I have only insisted that the gardeners continue to follow her plans. A regret that I have is that I never seem to have enough time enjoy them as much as I would like. Just keeping the estate running smoothly seems to take most of my time. After my mother died, my father took less interest in the estate, so I had to do a lot to get it back on track after I took over. Of course, I also had to take care of Georgiana at the same time as she had also been neglected for quite some time. I now realize that I spent so much time on estate matters that she was often left alone. That is probably the reason why she is actually quite shy now. You may not believe how shy she has been as she definitely acted out of character to bring us together."

These words reminded Elizabeth just how much responsibility was thrown at Darcy when he was so young. She automatically pulled herself closer to him in a show of support. "Fitzwilliam, you have done a marvelous job with everything that you had to do. Georgiana may have been shy, but it is obvious that her basic character is very strong. With some gentle guidance, she will be a wonderful woman."

"Elizabeth, I know that you will help her a lot. She really likes you already."

"What are your plans for today? Are you going to begin your search for a husband for Lydia?"

"First of all, I have to ride out with my steward to see if there are any problems with the harvest. It should be nearly complete, but this is a critical time for the earnings we can expect for this year. If I have time, I will ride into Lambton to talk to Thompson, the parson. He is a good man who knows everything that goes on in the area. He is trustworthy, so I will tell him the whole story. He might know of someone. If I do not get there today, I will see him tomorrow. I would like to settle Lydia as soon as possible."

As they were nearing the house, they went in to breakfast. Only Mr. Bennet was in the breakfast room. "Good morning, Lizzy, Darcy. Out for an early walk, I see."

"Papa, it is a beautiful day, so I hope you do not plan to stay in the library all day. You just have to get out to admire the gardens. Mr. Darcy, if I might make a suggestion, I hope you find time to drag my father out to your lake to see if he might catch a fish or two; if not today, then soon."

"Miss Elizabeth, that is a great idea. If I do not find the time today, I will be sure to tempt him in the next day or two. I like to have fresh fish for dinner. I have not been able to fish much recently, so it should be good sport."

Next to come was Georgiana, then Lydia. After eating, Darcy went out to find his steward, Mr. Bennet went into the library, and the three ladies went into the music room. Georgiana began to practice, while Lizzy and Lydia took up their needlework. After about an hour, Lizzy suggested that the day was too nice to sit inside. Georgiana took up her comment and suggested that they go in her open carriage to tour some of the woods, as the three of them would fit into it very easily. As this was enthusiastically endorsed, she sent word to have the carriage readied and they went up to get ready.

They went out and were assisted into the carriage, with Georgie driving. They noticed that a groom followed them on a horse, which Georgie said was normal as her brother was so careful about her safety, even though she knew the woods quite well. She drove onto a path that led into the woods, and the house was soon lost to view. The Bennet ladies thoroughly enjoyed this trip as they saw a number of spots that they decided were worth exploring more fully and would be delightful for a picnic. For some distance the path followed a stream, and then they circled around until they reached the main road that led to Lambton. They decided not to go into Lambton but to return to the house as it was nearing time for lunch. Georgie suggested they would go to Lambton to visit the shops another day.

After lunch, they strolled in the gardens, which were very extensive. Both Bennet ladies exclaimed their pleasure just to be guests at such a marvelous estate. Georgie, looking pointedly at Lizzy, slyly said that all the estate needed was a proper mistress. Lizzy understood what she was hinting at, but did not react. When they went in, they rested for a while before dressing for dinner.

Darcy returned in time to dress for dinner. At dinner, Lizzy asked about his day and he replied that he spent the whole day on his horse checking on the home and tenant farms to ensure that the harvests were going well. As he had found no serious problems, he said that the next day he would be talking to Thompson, the parson. After dinner, Georgie and Lizzy again entertained on the piano and Lizzy sang several songs. Darcy just sat back with his brandy, dreaming of being able to enjoy many such evenings in the future. He wondered what he should do to ensure that this happy future came to pass.


	13. Chapter 13

Early the next morning, Darcy and Elizabeth again walked in the gardens, which were large enough for them to explore different areas from the previous day's walk. Lizzy saw that there were even more areas left to explore, as well as the kitchen garden. During their walk, Lizzy mentioned that it looked as if Lydia was with child. They both knew that this complicated Darcy's search for a husband for her.

After breakfast, Darcy rode into Lambton. He found the parson in his manse and was welcomed warmly. Thompson was quite surprised to see the Master of Pemberley in his office. After greetings and the offer of coffee, Darcy began. "Mr. Thompson, I am here with an interesting situation. I hope you will be able to help me with some information and suggestions. Of course, I would prefer that you keep much of the information I will tell you strictly confidential, as you will understand." Thompson nodded his agreement, as he did not dare do anything that might upset this very important person.

"I was recently in Hertfordshire with my sister visiting a friend who has leased an estate there. While we were there, we were introduced to a family named Bennet from a neighbouring estate. The Bennets have several daughters, one of whom, Miss Elizabeth, became friends with my sister. I was so impressed with Miss Elizabeth that I asked to court her. She and her father came back to Pemberley with us. They also brought the youngest daughter, Lydia, who is in deep trouble.

"Lydia is young and impulsive. A militia regiment had been stationed nearby for the winter and relocated to Brighton this spring. Miss Lydia went to Brighton with them at the express invitation of the wife of the Colonel. Lydia fell victim to the blandishments of one of their officers and agreed to elope with him. Instead of taking her to Gretna Green, he took her to London, used her for his pleasure, and abandoned her. She made her way on foot to the home of relatives, where her father found her. She is obviously ruined and is with child. The officer disappeared and has not yet been found, even though the army is searching for him for desertion of his post.

"Mr. Bennet took her home to Hertfordshire, and her whole family is in disgrace there. I brought her here to see if I can find a husband for her so her family can work their way out of their humiliation. The gossip should be reduced and will likely go away if she is no longer there and marries, especially if it is to a decent man. I will provide a dowry for her to make her more attractive. To prevent any scandal here, we have introduced her as a war widow named Mrs. Lydia Freeman.

"My concern, of course, is that I want the scandal to go away before I make an offer for Miss Elizabeth. Now, you see why I am asking for your complete discretion. What I am asking you very specifically is if you know of a suitable person who might be willing to take Miss Lydia as a wife. I might add that this episode has changed her for the better. She is no longer as she was and now understands the severe consequences of her actions on her whole family. She is willing to do whatever she must to overcome their disgrace. I honestly believe she will make someone a good wife and is young enough to be taught how to behave as a decent wife should. I am willing to negotiate the amount of the dowry. Miss Lydia is the daughter of a gentleman, so she deserves a respectable husband, even though she acted so foolishly."

Darcy sat back and allowed Thompson to absorb everything he had said. After some thought, Thompson said, "May I ask you several questions?"

"Certainly. You can see how important this problem is to me."

"Let me preface my question by reminding you how rumours fly between Pemberley and Lambton as many of your staff have family here. I have heard that your visitors have a family connection to a former resident of Lambton who was here this summer. Do you know of this connection?"

"Yes, Mrs. Bennet's brother in London married a woman from Lambton. I believe her maiden name was Miss Madeline Barrie, whose father had a shop here. She is now Mrs. Gardiner and her husband has a successful import business in town. I believe that they are well respected and are quite genteel."

"That must be the connection. The Gardiners were here in August and they visited many of her former acquaintances. I believe they brought their niece Miss Elizabeth Bennet with them and they are all well thought of here. That connection will help as Miss Lydia's family is not totally unknown.

"I sympathize with your problem. I have a possibility in mind. Can you give me a day or two so I can talk to him?"

"Certainly; just send word to me and I will meet him if he is interested. Thank you for your assistance. Good-day to you." With that, Darcy left and returned to Pemberley.

When he arrived at the stable, he was told that the ladies were out in the carriage and that they had taken a picnic lunch with them. Upon learning which trail they had taken, he impulsively rode his horse after them, following their tracks. After only a couple of miles, he saw the carriage and the groom who had followed them. The groom told him that the ladies had taken the lunch and blankets to a small clearing next to a pond, but that they had refused his assistance. Darcy assured him that everything was all right and he left his horse in his care. He followed the path they had taken and soon heard their laughter.

He saw them sitting on blankets, just beginning to unpack the picnic baskets. "Ladies, may I join you?"

Georgie replied, "Fitzwilliam, how lovely! Please join us. We are just about to find out what Cook packed for us." Georgie innocently moved over closer to Lydia, making room for him next to Lizzy. The other ladies saw what she had done and just smiled.

Darcy could not help but be in a good mood as well. "What a lovely picture you made when I saw you here. If I were an artist, I would paint a picture called 'Picnic by the Pond' and hang it proudly in the large sitting room."

The ladies obligingly laughed at this thought, but were pleased at his compliment. They spread out all the food on the blankets and Darcy poured wine for each of them. He noticed that Cook had packed an extra cup, so she must have been aware that Darcy might join them if he could. While they ate, Darcy regaled them with stories of his escapades at this very pond with his cousin Richard. He said this is where they learned how to swim as the water was not too deep. He even described one occasion when they were in the water and several young daughters of tenants came upon them. When the girls dared them to come out of the water, they threatened to do just that but the thought of two naked boys made the girls run away in fright. He spoke wistfully of how innocent they had been then.

While all three ladies enjoyed his stories, Georgie was most surprised at how different her brother appeared to be now compared to what he had been like just a few weeks ago. She could not remember any previous occasion when he had ever spoken about such things. When they had finished eating as much as they wanted, they packed the remainder in the baskets and Darcy called the groom to come over. When he arrived, Darcy told him to take the baskets and help himself to the extra food. The only items they kept with them were the remaining bottles of wine and the cups. Lizzy noted the care that they took with their staff, including a young groom and complimented Darcy on this. Darcy remarked that this groom was noted for his appetite and said that he doubted that any food would go to waste.

As they had quite a lot of wine left, they each drank another glass, which made them all sleepy. Rather than let the ladies fall asleep in the sun, he made them pack up everything and load it into the carriage. He said that he did not want Georgie to drive after she had drunk several glasses of wine, so he took the reins himself and told the groom to lead his horse back to the stable.

When they arrived back at the house, he helped them all down off the carriage and led them into the house. As they all wanted to rest, they went up right away. When they reached Lizzy's room, the other two ladies left them and went to their rooms, but Darcy held Lizzy back for a moment. Seeing the sleepy smile on his face, she impulsively reached up and kissed him on the cheek, which surprised him greatly. She said, "Fitzwilliam, thank you for such an enjoyable picnic. That was wonderful." Before he could react, she went in and shut her door. He stood rooted on the spot for several moments, and then went to his own room to lie down, even though he knew there was correspondence he should be looking at. He fell asleep dreaming of her kiss and their prospects for the future, which suddenly looked much brighter.


	14. Chapter 14

It was just two days later that Darcy received a note from Thompson asking if he could come to Lambton to discuss what he had found. Darcy rode in and went to the manse. "Good morning, Thompson. You have news for me?"

"Yes, and it is likely quite good news. You know the Abbott brothers who are lawyers here?" Darcy nodded. "Did you hear that Mr. Frank Abbott, the older brother, quite recently lost his wife in childbirth?" Darcy said that he had not heard this. "The child, a daughter, survived, but Abbott is devastated. They had been married for about ten years and wanted to have a large family. After so many years, she finally became with child, and then this happened. I knew that he wants his daughter to have a proper mother, so I thought that he might be interested what you told me. I did not tell him all of the details, but he would like to talk to you. He is in need of money for some reason, so he may easily be persuadable.

"Would you like to go see him now? He said he would be interested in talking to you. I do not need to go with you as I do not need to know the details of what you decide."

Darcy was interested. "I will go to him right now. Thank you very much for this information." Darcy left and rode to the lawyer's office.

He was ushered straight in to see Abbott. "Welcome, Mr. Darcy. I expected to see you fairly soon. Thompson told me something about your situation, but would not divulge all of the details. Would you like to have some tea or coffee?"

"Coffee would be nice. Abbott, I heard about your loss and would like to express my sincere condolences. I lost both my parents and can relate to what you must be feeling." Abbott told a clerk to bring a pot of coffee, and then got right down to business.

"Mr. Darcy, thank you for your kind words. Yes, I am finding my situation difficult as we had a good marriage, even though we were disappointed in our efforts to start a family. Now I have a daughter who needs a mother. I believe very strongly that children need to have both parents who will love them and help them grow.

"Now, Mr. Darcy, to get down to business. As I understand, you have visitors from Hertfordshire named Bennet, who are relatives of the former Miss Madeline Barrie? I grew up with Maddie, as we always called her, and was sorry when her father sold his shop and moved the family to London. I had a very good reunion with her in August when she was here with her husband, Gardiner, and her niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I was very impressed with all three of them and it appears that Gardiner has done very well in his import business. Miss Bennet appeared to be a wonderful lady, very intelligent, well read, and personable. Thompson mentioned that you were interested in her and I am not surprised in the least. She will make a great Mistress of Pemberley." Darcy nodded in agreement.

"I understand that your visitors include Mr. Bennet, who is a landed gentleman, and a younger sister? It is this sister who is in trouble. Thompson said she was taken in by a smooth-talking scoundrel who made her many promises, but abandoned her after having his way with her, leaving her with child. Now this fact has become known in their home town and the whole family is disgraced and is being shunned. You want to find a way for the family to overcome this problem so you can forward your interest in Miss Elizabeth. Do I have everything correct so far?"

"Yes, you do. I must add that I am so concerned about their reputation that I am willing to provide a dowry for Miss Lydia to make her more marriageable. Even though you really do not need to know the name of the blackguard, you may know him and he is from here. It was George Wickham."

"That villain! I certainly remember him and how immoral he was when he was living here. I know that he was responsible for ruining more than one innocent young woman right in this area. I would like to get my hands on him! The only good thing I can say about him is that he must be the most persuasive but nastiest piece of work in all of England. Now I sympathize with poor Miss Lydia. I know that he preys on innocent young women; the younger and the more innocent, the better. Has he been punished for this? I sure hope so."

"Not yet, but he will be. He was an officer in the militia but deserted his post, so the army is searching for him. I offered a reward to help find him. When they do, they will take care of him."

"Poor Miss Lydia! Knowing her Aunt Gardiner and that her father is a landed gentleman, she comes from a good family and did not deserve ever meeting him. Now I would like to help her out of this situation, if I can.

"As I said, I want my daughter to have a mother who loves her. If Miss Lydia can learn to love her, I will be interested. I always wanted a big family, so her being with child is not a problem as long as she understands how badly she acted. Do you think she understands that now?"

"Yes, I do. Wickham simply abandoned her in London with nothing, so she knows how evil he is and how foolishly she acted to give in to him. She is definitely ashamed of what she did and is willing to do anything to help her family overcome their disgrace. I believe that she has learned her lesson and will be willing to settle down with a good husband. I also believe that she is young enough to learn how to behave properly."

"Darcy, you said that you are willing to provide a dowry for her? I am interested in this as I am in a difficult situation. I started up my legal practice here and have been doing reasonably well. When my younger brother followed my footsteps and also became a lawyer, I accepted him as my junior partner, hoping that the practice would grow enough to support the two of us. However, I overestimated the need for legal services here and now realize there is not enough business for more than one lawyer.

"My uncle has a very successful legal practice in Derby and wants to retire. He is willing to sell his practice to me for 5,000 pounds, but I have managed to save only 2,000 as of now. His price is very reasonable and I am interested in moving there. Quite frankly, I need that 3,000 very soon or he might sell the practice to someone else. If Miss Lydia had that much as a dowry, she would be even more interesting to me. Is that too much to ask of you?"

"No. In fact, that is the amount I had been contemplating providing her. From what you have been saying, the only remaining questions are if you two are compatible and if she can learn to love your daughter enough to be a good mother to her. Is that right?"

"Yes. What do you propose that we should do next?"

"Why do you not come out to Pemberley to meet her? Are you available tomorrow? I would like to settle this as soon as possible. If both of you are agreeable, you can talk to Mr. Bennet and draw up the legal documents."

"I would also like to settle this soon, so I will come in the morning. Should I bring my daughter with me?"

"That is a good idea so we can see how Lydia reacts to her." They shook hands on their agreement and Darcy left for home.

When he arrived there, he found the ladies in the music room. They saw that something was happening, so they pressed him for details. He said that he wanted Mr. Bennet to hear what he had found, so he asked a footman to go to the library to ask him to join them. When they were all together, he told them everything about his discussion with Mr. Abbott. He included the conditions that it all depended on whether they were compatible and if Lydia could learn to love the baby. The others all agreed that these were very reasonable conditions, but the ladies wanted to know what Abbott was like.

"He seems to be quite a reasonable man, quite gentlemanly in his conduct. I have heard nothing bad about him. Not real young, as you can imagine as he was married for ten years. Not overly handsome, but not unpleasant to look at. Of course, Miss Lydia, you will have to judge for yourself; you will see him as he will come in the morning with his daughter.

"Mr. Bennet, should we adjourn to my office while the ladies talk about the important details?"

The three ladies certainly talked about what might happen. Both Elizabeth and Georgiana cleverly emphasized the positive aspects, including being married to a successful lawyer and the benefits of living in Derby, which was larger than Meryton. Georgiana said that, as her aunt and uncle lived near Derby, they would likely be able to meet quite often in the future.

Darcy and Mr. Bennet spoke of more mundane topics, such as the financial costs and the timing of likely events. Although Mr. Bennet offered to pay a portion of Lydia's dowry, Darcy refused, knowing the Bennets' financial situation. Mr. Bennet was actually relieved as he knew how slim his resources were.


	15. Chapter 15

In the morning, both Lizzy and Georgie went to Lydia's room to help her dress. When they finished, they both believed they had achieved the effect they wanted, which was to make her attractive, but not too attractive to be considered as a good mother to a baby. They also wanted her to look mature, so she was dressed quite conservatively. When they entered the breakfast room, both Darcy and Mr. Bennet rose and complimented Lydia on how well she looked.

Abbott arrived with the baby and her nurse. Darcy made the introductions and Abbott greeted them all, but especially Lizzy. "Miss Bennet, how nice to see you again. How are your aunt and Uncle? I cannot say how much I enjoyed meeting them this summer." Then, they all saw that Abbott looked very carefully at Lydia. As Abbott appeared to be pleased at what he saw, they all breathed a slight sigh of relief. As soon as the introductions were made, Lydia went to the nurse and asked if she could hold the baby, which Lizzy had strongly recommended that she do. As soon as she had the baby in her arms, she said, "She's so sweet!" and she kissed her. "What is her name?"

"I was thinking of calling her Amelia, after her mother, but she has not yet been christened." Everyone could see that Abbott was smiling at Lydia's reaction to his daughter.

"Sweet Amelia! What a lovely baby!" Lydia rocked her in her arms before she relented and passed her to Lizzy, who was waiting impatiently.

Mr. Bennet was pleased to see that they seemed to be reacting very well to their first introduction. "Lydia, would you like to show Mr. Abbott some of the gardens?" He knew they had to talk privately and wanted to give them a chance.

Lydia blushed at her father's words, but Abbott understood. He offered his arm to her. "Miss Lydia, I would like that." She took the arm that he offered and led him outside. The others all watched them go out and immediately begin to talk quietly together.

Mr. Bennet said, "I think their first reaction was very encouraging. I have a good feeling about this, Darcy. Now, are you ladies ever going to give the baby back to her nurse?"

Lizzy was holding the baby, "Not yet, Papa, she really is a sweet baby. I can see from Lydia's reaction to her that she will learn to love her as her mother. She is easy to love."

Darcy had watched Elizabeth's reaction when she had held the baby, and was pleased at what he saw. He decided that she definitely had proper maternal instincts and would make a fine mother to his children.

When Abbott and Lydia came back in, she was still holding his arm. Everyone looked at them expectantly. Abbott looked at Mr. Bennet and said, "Mr. Bennet, may we speak privately?"

"With pleasure. Darcy, may we use the library?"

"Of course, Mr. Bennet knows where it is." The two men went out of the drawing room, while Lizzy and Georgie went to Lydia. Lizzy was still holding the baby but Lydia held out her arms for her. Lizzy and Georgie put their arms around Lydia and expressed their delight at such a quick decision.

Lydia said, "As soon as I held the baby I knew I could love her. She is just like a doll. When I talked to Mr. Abbott, he seems so kind and gentle. He really wants Amelia to have a mother who loves her. He said he would accept my baby as his own, even though he knew Wickham and how bad he was. He spoke of his intention to move to Derby to buy his uncle's legal practice and said that he hoped that I would help him set up his household there. That was the only part that worries me; what do I know about setting up a household? Lizzy, can you help me do that?"

Darcy was listening to the ladies and Lydia's concerns. "Miss Lydia, I may be able to help you with that. If you would like my assistance and Abbott agrees, I will lend you one of my staff members who knows what is needed and can make suggestions to you while you find a house and set it up. My housekeeper in town would be perfect, or she might recommend someone else who is knowledgeable. You could have her for as long as you need."

Lydia was obviously relieved at this offer. "Mr. Darcy, that is so kind of you. Thank you so much for your offer. I hope that Mr. Abbott will agree." Lydia looked at Lizzy, knowing that he was making this offer only to please Lizzy. Lizzy knew as well, and smiled at Darcy.

Mr. Bennet and Abbott soon returned and both were smiling, so everyone knew that the necessary consent had been given. Abbott was invited to stay for dinner and he accepted, saying that he would return after going back to his office to begin drawing up the necessary agreements. He said he would meet with the parson to arrange for the first reading of the banns on Sunday. As Abbott agreed with Darcy's offer of finding someone to help Lydia set up their household in Derby, Darcy said he would write to his London housekeeper to warn her to think of who might be suitable for this assignment. They set the wedding date for right after the necessary banns had been read. Mr. Bennet said he wanted to go home right after the wedding, which alerted Darcy that he had to decide what to do about his relationship with Elizabeth very soon.

The ladies immediately began speaking of wedding clothes and Lydia's trousseau, so Darcy asked Mr. Bennet if he would prefer to leave them to it rather than stay with them. Not surprisingly, the gentlemen left the ladies after Mr. Bennet told Lizzy how much he would give Lydia for new clothes. The ladies decided they would go into Lambton in the morning to go shopping.

The next few days saw everything proceed as planned. The first banns were read on Sunday, with Lydia being named as Mrs. Lydia Bennet Freeman. Darcy received a letter from his cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, stating that Wickham had been found after being turned in by someone who was owed money by him. As this person knew that the likelihood of Wickham paying his debt was slim, he settled for the reward offered by Darcy. The Colonel said that Wickham faced a court martial for desertion and that his likely sentence would be a flogging in front of his whole regiment, and then a transfer to a punishment battalion, where few survived for long as they were sent to the front lines to dig fortifications, no matter how dangerous it was. The Colonel knew that the French sharpshooters delighted in using these soldiers for target practice. Darcy passed this information to the ladies who did not regret his likely ending.

Abbott continued to be a regular visitor to Pemberley and the ladies visited his home to begin to plan for their removal to Derby. The assistant housekeeper from Darcy House in London arrived and met with both Abbott and Lydia. They all made a trip to Derby to look for a suitable house. Darcy had written to his Uncle and Aunt Matlock who were at their Matlock estate near Derby and they were invited to stay with them when they made their trip to Derby. Darcy told the Matlocks most of the details of what was happening, but did not include his history with Elizabeth. He had described Lydia as Mrs. Freeman so no word of her disgrace would circulate.

They arrived at Derby in two carriages. Abbott, Amelia, and her nurses were to stay with his uncle in town. The others arrived at the Matlock estate and were received warmly, even though the Bennets' status was much below that of their usual house guests. The Earl and Countess of Matlock understood from Darcy's letters just how important this trip was to him and his future hopes, so they went along with all of his requests. Soon after their arrival, the Matlocks saw that Darcy was in love with with Miss Elizabeth, so they made an effort to get to know her better. Mr. Bennet soon found that the Earl was also an intelligent gentleman, so they often engaged in lively discussions.

As the Earl had used Abbott's uncle in his professional capacity, he was interested in meeting Abbott to decide if he would continue to use him in place of his uncle. When the Earl met Abbott, the Earl saw that Abbott made an effort to impress him as he wanted to keep this important client. Several trips were made into Derby by Lizzy, Lydia, Darcy, and his assistant housekeeper to look at prospective houses. Abbott and Lydia made their choice, fortunately agreeing on the same house. They began to consider how to staff the house, as only a couple of the staff from Lambton were interested in moving to Derby.


	16. Chapter 16

Early one morning at Matlock, just before they were to return to Pemberley, Darcy and Elizabeth met to walk in the Matlock gardens. Elizabeth said, "These gardens are quite nice, almost as nice as Pemberley's. Are we decided to return in the morning?"

"Yes, I believe that we have done about as much as we need to here. I want to get back to make sure the final harvests have gone well."

"Fitzwilliam, before we go, I want to express my deepest gratitude on everything you have done for us. You have done so much, and with such great results."

"Elizabeth, it is not your gratitude I want. You know I did it all for you. While I had dreamt of saying this under the rose arbour at Pemberley, I cannot wait. At Netherfield you told me you could not even accept a courtship with me until your family's problem was solved. That situation is now well in hand. You know that I have loved you for almost a whole year. My love for you has only grown deeper and more steadfast. I made a huge mistake in my offer to you in Kent, so I do not want to do that again. May I speak now, or should I wait?"

"Fitzwilliam, I know that the mistake made there was mine. You cannot know how much I have regretted what I did and said then. My feelings are quite the opposite of what they were then. I will gladly hear what you have to say." She smiled up at him and he took her into his arms.

"Elizabeth, I love you so much. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? I cannot imagine my life without you."

"Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes. I love you, Fitzwilliam and want nothing more than to be your wife." She pulled his head down and kissed him lightly. Rather than pulling away, he pulled her tighter and the kiss became quite passionate. Finally, he pulled away but kept holding her tightly against him. Suddenly she realized where they were and that they could be seen from the house. "Fitzwilliam, we cannot do this here. We can be seen from the house."

"Quite frankly, I do not care. I love you so much I never want to let go of you." However, he did move away from her but put her arm in his. I had better go speak to your father before he comes out here with a gun." He led her into the house and to the breakfast room, where they found everyone watching them with huge smiles, except for Mr. Bennet, who was frowning. They realized that the windows looked out to where they had just been.

Mr. Bennet was the first to speak, "Darcy, I believe you need to speak to me privately? Either that or pistols in the morning." Everyone laughed at their discomfort and blushes, but Darcy responded very politely.

"Mr. Bennet, may I have a word with you? I believe you might know what I have to say." They left, with Mr. Bennet's arm around Darcy to comfort him.

Georgiana was the first to run to Lizzy and hug her. "You know we were all watching? We all knew exactly what was being said and your answer was quite obvious. I am so happy to have you as my sister. Now Lydia will be my sister, too. Two weddings!"

The Countess was next to approach Elizabeth. "My dear, I am very happy for you. I am not surprised at this outcome as it was obvious that you two had eyes only for each other. However, I will have to speak to my nephew about acting just a bit more circumspect in public places. I will expect an invitation to your wedding, no matter where or when it is. I want to see Darcy happy at long last. I believe that you two will make a wonderful couple."

The others also said their congratulations to Elizabeth, even though nothing official had been said. The gentlemen soon returned smiling, so everyone knew that Mr. Bennet had given his consent and blessing to the union. Mr. Bennet could not resist more teasing. "Lydia, from what they so publicly displayed just outside our window, you and I will have to watch these two closely so they do not sneak off somewhere to be alone. I think that another early wedding will be in the offing. Lizzy, your mother will want several months, but will have to get everything planned much sooner than that." He went to Lizzy and kissed her forehead, "My dear, I could not have given you away to anyone more worthy of you. Darcy, I know you will treat her well. I can only wish you two a very happy life together."

They all left for Pemberley early the next morning as planned. The next several weeks were busy finalizing Lydia's wedding plans. They were to marry in the Lambton church with Thompson officiating, and then go to Pemberley for their wedding breakfast. Darcy made sure that all of the important people in Lambton were invited to attend both the ceremony and the wedding breakfast. By now, everyone in Lambton seemed to know of the connection of the Bennets and the Gardiners, so many were interested in the wedding. In any case, the local population did not often receive an invitation to visit the great house, so many were expected. Of course, the Pemberley staff was easily capable of handling this event.

The wedding went off as planned, with a great number of people in attendance, both in the church and at the wedding breakfast. The newlyweds planned to spend their first nights in Lambton, and then make the big move to Derby. The next day, Lizzy and Georgie went to Abbott's house in Lambton to help Lydia make some final arrangements for the move. The first time Lydia found an opportunity to speak quietly to Lizzy, she said, "Oh, Lizzy, I am so happy. I thought that being with Wickham was good, but it was nothing compared to my dear Abbott. He is so gentle and loving that I cannot believe what I felt. I can only hope that your married life is as good as mine. My only worry is having two babies to look after at the same time. It is a good thing we have great nurses. My dear Abbott has promised to keep them for as long as I need them."

"Lydia, father and I will be going to Longbourn very soon, so you will be on your own. For how long will the Darcy House staff member be with you?"

"My dear Abbott and Mr. Darcy agreed that she will come to Derby for at least a couple of weeks until our new house is running smoothly. We will look for a new housekeeper when we get there. She has been a great help teaching me what to do. I just wish Mama had taken time to teach me more of what I need to know to run a household."

"Now you are making me nervous as Pemberley is such a huge place. Mrs. Reynolds has already been spending time with me. She is a big help as she has been there so long. We should get back there so I can continue to learn. Just let me know how I can help you with anything else." With that, Lizzy and Georgie left.

Lizzy had sent letters to Jane and her mother telling her of Lydia's wedding to a very worthy man, which news Mrs. Bennet soon shared with everyone in Meryton who would listen. This news made a significant improvement in the Bennets' standing there and they began to receive invitations to several events. Lizzy's next letter told of her engagement to Mr. Darcy, which sent her mother into a frenzy because of his wealth and fine estate. As Jane had also received an offer from Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Bennet's head was full of wedding plans. How was she to plan two weddings? No dates had been set, so she wondered how she would cope with so much to do.

Darcy had told Elizabeth that he did not care when or where they married, as long as it was as soon as possible. He said that she should decide with Jane what they would do, and agreed that a double wedding would be fine with him, as long it was soon. They agreed that she would go home with her father to finalize plans, and then he would follow a few days before the wedding date. As Georgiana pleaded that she did not want to be separated from Elizabeth, he also agreed that she could go with them to stay at Longbourn 'with her new sisters.'

He saw the three of them off with suitable maids and footmen in his largest carriage. Their plan was to marry in Meryton, then spend the first week very quietly at Darcy House in London, then return to Pemberley with Georgiana. When they arrived at Longbourn, Lizzy and Jane soon decided on a double wedding to alleviate their mother's anxieties. Georgiana was welcomed by Jane, Mary, and Kitty, and she was soon whispering with Kitty and Mary about all of the happenings at Pemberley and Matlock. Lizzy saw that Georgie would be very comfortable with her sisters. She and Jane also insisted on a short period of time until their weddings, in spite of their mother's protests that she would need months to plan such an important double event. They insisted and their father supported them as he wanted 'all this fuss' over with. He arranged to have the banns read the very next Sunday.

The next few weeks were very busy, with Jane and Elizabeth getting their clothes ready, invitations sent out, and arrangements for the church and breakfast to be finalized. The Matlocks accepted their invitation to the wedding and Bingley agreed that he would host them at Netherfield. Bingley's sisters arrived and were soon, but reluctantly, involved in all of the planning. However, the fact that they would host an earl and a countess sent them fluttering in their preparations.

As the Gardiners, with all of their children, were to stay at Longbourn, this meant that the ladies had to double up. Jane and Elizabeth had no problem with this, and Kitty asked Georgie to stay with her. This was a novel experience for Georgie as she had never before shared a room with anyone. As might be expected, she and Kitty spent a lot of time talking in bed before they finally went to sleep. Jane and Lizzy had the same problem, but their talk was quite different. Lizzy shared what Lydia had said after her wedding night, so they both wondered exactly what they might expect on theirs.

Abbott and Lydia had also agreed to come from Derby with Amelia. As Longbourn was full and Elizabeth did not want to make them suffer with Bingley's sisters, she asked her Aunt Philips to host them as her aunt had always liked Lydia and Mr. Philips was also an attorney. They readily agreed and looked forward to meeting Lydia's new husband. Mrs. Philips looked forward to having a baby in the house as they had never managed to have any children of their own. Sure enough, one sight of Amelia and she asked to hold her and was very reluctant to give her back to her nurse. Philips and Abbott were soon talking about the law and cases they had worked on. Aunt Philips was pleased to see that Lydia appeared to be very happy with her new husband and the baby.

One person who refused to attend, or even acknowledge the wedding, was Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Her parson, Collins had received an invitation, mainly because his wife, the former Charlotte Lucas, was Lizzy's closest friend. They came early, largely to escape the wrathful words of Lady Catherine, but Charlotte was soon closeted with Lizzy talking of what had happened to each of them since they had seen each other last Easter.

Lizzy wanted to learn more of a wife's duties to her husband, but was afraid to ask Charlotte as she thought so little of her husband. She did manage to find time alone with her Aunt Gardiner, and spoke of her concerns. As her aunt had seen how much Lizzy appeared to love her betrothed, she reassured her of her unnecessary fears and told her the clinical details of physical love, but said she should trust her husband above all else. Lizzy was glad she spoke to her aunt before her mother came to talk to her and Jane about the same topic. After her mother left, she wondered how their opinions could be so different on the very same issue. She had to reassure Jane with what both Lydia and their aunt had said about the joys that were attainable. While she was embarrassed to describe what her aunt had told her about the physical act, she managed by whispering the details in Jane's ear.

The Matlocks arrived at Netherfield, accompanied by their son Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. They were welcomed effusively by Miss Bingley as she preened to accommodate such illustrious guests. The fact that she misunderstood the Colonel's politeness for compliments added to her fawning over them. After they had settled themselves, they went to Longbourn to meet Elizabeth and her family. Elizabeth was very happy to see him again as they had not met since Easter at Kent. Georgiana was pleased to see them, and Mrs. Bennet was beside herself in welcoming a real earl and countess in her home. Richard made an effort to compliment her, but soon turned his attention to the two youngest Bennet ladies. They both, but especially Kitty, was impressed by the attentions of a real colonel of the regular army who wore a very fine red coat.

Finally, the morning of their double wedding arrived, and Jane and Lizzy were helped to dress by their three sisters, Georgie, their mother, and Aunt. They spent a lot of time on their hair, but finally they were all ready to go to the church. The church was packed, as their disgrace was obviously forgotten, or was at least forgiven by such illustrious husbands and guests. Jane and Lizzy entered the church on the arms of their father, but their eyes were only on the sight of their betrotheds standing proudly at the front. These two were nearly eclipsed by the sight of Richard, who was standing with them in his fanciest full-dress uniform of a Colonel, sword and all. Nearly every unmarried woman, as well as some married ones, had eyes only for him.

The service went by in a blur for the four of them, as they paid attention only to their beloveds. In fact, they had to be prompted to recite their vows at the proper times. They were surprised when it was over and they exited the church on the arms of their new spouses. It seemed that the whole town was outside the church to greet and congratulate them. Most of those gathered there went to Longbourn for the wedding breakfast. The newlyweds barely managed to eat or drink anything as so many people wanted a word with them.

Finally, they managed to get away, the Darcys to London and the Bingleys to a secret location, where they all planned to take time to get to know their new spouses. Darcy and Elizabeth arrived at Darcy House just at dusk. After they had met the staff, refreshed themselves, and ate a light but excellent meal, they went up arm in arm.

What can we say about the first night's experiences of both Jane and Elizabeth? Neither was disappointed, but Elizabeth had the more satisfying encounter that exceeded, by far, her expectations of its raptures and repetitions. She vowed to avail herself of such a loving husband's attentions as often as possible. She believed he would not decline her wishes, ever. As for Jane, she expected much more from their first encounter, but Bingley's boyish enthusiasm made his attention to her far too brief, but he was willing, even eager, to repeat his efforts, much to her eventual satisfaction.

Thus we can leave our main characters with the firm expectation that they would live lives that were mainly very satisfying, indeed.

THE END

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I hope you enjoyed this, my fourth story that I have published on this site. I am in the process of writing a fifth story and will publish it here in the not too distant future, called "A Month in London." As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.

7


End file.
